between hell and heaven eng
by CrazyZaika
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia has done it. She graduated from the private middle school for high society daughters and could persuade her father to let her way, so she could study. In Magnolia at the M.C. University she get to know a group of people, which would change her life. [complete Summary in the prolog NaLu # Gajevy # Miraxus # Gruvia ]
1. Prologue

**Summary: Lucy Heartfilia had done it. She graduated from her private middle school for high society females and persuaded her father to let her goway, so she could study. In Magnolia at the M.C. University she get to know a group of people, which would change her life. Amongst other things she found her potential real love. She give her heart away, believed her heart and trusts someone with the most bad reputation. (NaLu | Gajevy | Miraxus | Gruvia)**

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 **Hey ho,**

 **I hope you like this fanfiction. I'm decided to translate my story into english. And yes, my english is bad. So pls bear with it. This start is a bit sad and the prolog isn't really long, but the first chapter would be longer ^^ And a big thank you goes to my BETA _doginshoe._ She's so nice and great. Thank you dear :3**

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Your Z

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Prolog

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She choked again, while hot tears ran down her cheeks. A new wave of nausea rose in her, pushing upward while her slender fingers clutched the rim of the toilet. And then she vomited noisily up her breakfast. She felt hands holding back her hair, felt the soft fingertips on her neck. A fresh barrage of tears flowed down her cheeks. Her heart ached, and she wished he was here. But he was not. Why should he be? He had only played with her after all.

"You have to tell him."

"I know... but I can't. I want to... it hurts, Levy," she said, straightening herself slowly. Meanwhile, Levy handed her a wet rag and a cup of water so she could rinse her mouth and then helped her up. She sniffed while accepting these things, spitting the water back into the sink. She looked into the big bathroom mirror. She had not looked like that before. It used to be an image of liveliness and joy. And now? The long hair hung on her like knotted straw from the head, her skin was dry and generally she was morbidly pale. The once lively eyes seemed like two dark abysses, deep, muddy and soulless.

She was a daunting image and she quickly averted her eyes. She did not want to see that ... sight of herself. She knew she could just go to him. To tell him that she loved him and what happened, but that didn't work. Because he simply didn't want her. And that tortured her mentally. It destroyed her and turned her life into hell. Because he had only played with her and pushed her into a deep abyss because she had dared to trust him. Because she thought he would love her.


	2. Chapter 1

**So guys, here comes the first chapter. I hope you like it.** **Tell me your thoughts ;)** **Looking forward to know them :3**

 **And again a big thank you goes to _doginshoe_ which checked everything **

**Greets Z :3**

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 **Chapter 1**

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She hummed contently while her bodyguard and childhood friend Loki helped her carry her suitcases. She was so excited and glanced across the campus. The Magnolia University grounds were large and spacious. High Gothic style buildings rose up into the clear spring sky and she felt absolute reverence. Her heart was beating excitedly in her chest and the blonde looked around radiantly. Students walked across the campus laughing cheerfully or sat together in small groups on the lawn. Old trees lined the paved paths that ran from one building to the next.

"Ojou-sama," Loki started, but she interrupted him immediately.

"Lucy, Loki. Lucy. Not Princess, not Ojou-sama or Lucy-sama. Just Lucy. How many times do I have to tell you that?," she stood next to a big pink suitcase, her arms crossed in front of her breasts and looked up at Loki. He seemed a little embarrassed, but then nodded. Strained he looked into the sky so that he would not be tempted to stare at her breasts. Redness spread over her cheeks.

"All right... Lucy," Loki replied. Lucy pulled up a brow, then she grinned broadly and embraced Loki's arm strongly.

"Very nice. Then we can go and look for my dormitory," she said beaming, packing her suitcase and dragging Loki with her. He had to grin and let himself be dragged along, even if she couldn't drag him along normally if he didn't really want her to. Lucy was as cheerful and hilarious as he had rarely seen her in her father's and his employer's home, so it didn't bother him at all.

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"And?"

"What and?"

"Which one do you choose this time?," Laxus asked and grinned as the gaze of his bright soul mirrors glided over the new arrivals. He would love to nibble, but then Mirajane would rip his ass up to his ears. And even if he didn't love her, at least that what he believed it, he desired her. She was just extremely sexy and fitted him perfectly.

Natsu who laid smoking on the grass, straightened up and blew smoke into the air. A look from hungry dark eyes glided across the campus and then he saw her. His next goal. A dirty grin spread across his face as he pointed his cigarette in the right direction. Laxus followed his gaze and laughed.

"Never in his life. Look at how she looks around. I also know who that is," Laxus said. Gajeel just came to them and settled ponderously on the lawn.

"Already betting again," he asked with a deep humming voice. Laxus grinned and pointed to a blonde, busty beauty wearing a blouse and an ankle-length skirt. She wore her hair braided into two plaits. Gajeel laughed out loud. Like Laxus, he had immediately recognised who it was. Natsu, however, frowned confusedly. He just didn't understand the joke.

"What is so funny about it," he asked and pulled his brows together. Laxus fell aside laughing and rolled over the lawn. Anger crept up in Natsu. He didn't like it when Laxus laughed at him. Generally when you laughed over him.

"This is Lucyanna Layla Heartfilia. Or for short Lucy Heartfilia. Daughter of the Heartfilia empire. She's an absolute wallflower and has more class than you'll ever have, Nat-chan," said another voice and Gray sat down with them. He was as cool as ever and Natsu growled at him as fire broke out on his skin.

"Don't make fun of me, all right?," he growled and his eyes narrowed. The pupils contracted into slits.

"Okay, how much do we want to bet that she rejects you," Gajeel asked and grinned broadly, exposing a row of fangs. Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest as he pulled the cigarette between his lips again.

"2000 Jewell?" he then suggested. The boys laughed.

"What, are you afraid that you will be blank," Gajeel asked giggling. Natsu snorted.

"It's only a game. I won't let myself be chained. And for one round with her, I think 2000 jewel is good money, don't you think? More than I would pay for anybody else," he said and shrugged his muscular shoulders. His boys stared at him. Did he actually notice that he had just put a rich, probably naïve girl on the level with a whore? Probably not, huh?

"So? Deal, or no deal," Natsu asked and looked at the others waiting. Gray looked over at Lucy, who happily pulled a young man with her. She seemed so frivolous, so lively. And he knew that if Natsu wanted to get her, he had to get her to fall in love with him and that would destroy Lucy. He knew that. But ... he didn't think she would give in so easily. On the one hand there was this other guy and something told him that she was certainly not so easy to catch and that Natsu would really have to tear his ass open for Lucy.

"I still don't think you can get her around. It's a bet," he said and hit. The others grinned slightly and followed. None of the boys really believed that Natsu would get them. After all, it was Lucy Heartfilia. She was a high society daughter and certainly wasn't naive enough to fall for Natsu's sayings, was she? Natsu just grinned wider while he stood up, took a last pull from his cigarette and then burned the stump with a flame in his hand.

"Well then, let's get to work, shall we?," He laughed quietly and then followed his victim. He was looking forward to tasting her and making her his own. He followed her and the strange, orange-haired guy. They went to one of the dorms and he grinned wider. He lived in the same dormitory. Fairy House was an old house donated by Fairy Tail when the university was founded. He grinned broadly. That way it would be easy to besiege and seduce her.

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Lucy ran next to Loki and laughed at the joke he had made. She felt so incredibly free and happy if she could change. She knew she looked absolutely boring. She knew it herself, but maybe she could change here? Maybe then she would also become more courageous? And maybe, just maybe she could find someone here who would love her. Someone she could love who was good and honest. Manly and gentle as well. Her heartbeat accelerated at the thought that she might find her great love here and nervousness filled her senses.

Loki took her to room 3.400 and bowed slightly to her. She smiled slightly, even though for a moment sadness scurried over her features. She had hoped that he would be her friend here and not her bodyguard. But right now it turned out that he was still just her bodyguard. She felt icy claws of loneliness reach for her heart, but she immediately conjured a mask of happiness back onto her face so as not to worry Loki as he stood up again.

"Lucy-s... Lucy, this is your room. Do you want me to help you with the storage? If not, then I would go to my room myself," he said and improved when, out of habit, he wanted to address her as Lucy-sama again. He smiled politely. Unobtrusively, he had been keeping an eye on his surroundings the whole time and still felt that look on him. He had the strong feeling that they were being watched. And that disturbed him extremely. Then Lucy shook her head and smiled.

"No, that's all right, Loki. I can't lay siege to you all the time. Honestly, I can do that little unpacking on my own," she said and laughed, waving off. She wasn't a little child anymore and would manage that on her own. She knew that. Loki pulled up a brow and his mouth twitched. She knew that look. She knew that he never took her seriously. She knew that, but why did he care? She pressed her lips together, then she unlocked the door, at first, she was a bit clumsy, but Loki didn't help her because he knew that she wanted to do it herself. And he couldn't always be there so she didn't have to get her hands dirty. She reached for the second suitcase he had carried, then took hers and dragged them into the room she would share with two other girls. Then she kicked the door again, grinning at Loki.

"I'll see you later."

"Very well, Lucy," he replied, smiling and suggesting another bow, then he left. Lucy looked after him and sighed slightly. Then she closed the door and leaned against it, looked around the room. It was big and airy.

The walls were painted in a bright creamy white and the floor was covered with a warm, easy-care wooden floor. The room was rectangular. To her right was a partition wall. To her left was another door. On the wall next to her were two shelves filled with books and CDs. She smiled and let her gaze wander on. Next to the left wall was a double bed and there was a kind of second level, which was only waist-high and could be reached by a wide staircase.

A kind of glass fence separated the elevated one from the other floor. It went further into the room. On the raised floor there was a double bed on the left and one on the right, which had not been seen through the partition on the right. In the middle were three desks made of light wood, each with a swivel chair. Five wide, floor-to-ceiling windows let in a lot of light and someone had opened the windows so they could be ventilated. The white curtain fabric moved gently and she looked behind the partition. A recliner and a corner sofa stood on the wall and a plasma TV hung on the partition itself. A glass coffee table stood in front of the cream-coloured corner sofa. Lucy turned smiling once around herself.

Then the door opened and two girls came in laughing. They both had blue hair, one with short hair, brown eyes that were quite narrow and dainty while the other with slim, long blue waves and deep dark blue eyes. When they saw Lucy, they stopped abruptly. Silence spread throughout the room and all three stared at each other. Then both beamed.

"You must be Lucy," said the smaller of the two, her brown eyes glowing. The other was a little more reserved, as it seemed. Redness spread to Lucy's cheeks.

"Uh... me," she began and became even redder.

"I'm Levy McGarden and this is Juvia Lockser. We're in the second semester. We are studying magic in research and combat," she introduced her friend and herself, a smile radiating off her face. Lucy smiled.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I study magic in medicine, research and combat," she said and the blush on her cheeks grew deeper. The two girls made big eyes.

"Wow... then you have to be really smart when you study medicine. Research is difficult, but medicine«, Levi said with big eyes, but grinned.

"Um ... which bed is still available?" asked Lucy.

"The one on the right side of the hill," Levy said and winked at her. Juvia grinned slightly and nodded in agreement. Lucy beamed, then she took her two suitcases and struggled to drag her to her bed. She was quite clumsy about it, but she managed. Levy and Juvia looked at each other for a moment, giggled, but they said nothing else. Lucy just looked too funny trying to get both suitcases up the few steps at the same time. You could see she rarely did anything herself, especially as Juvia and Levy knew she was the heiress of the Heartfilia empire. She had previously been checked out and informed. After a few minutes Lucy had made it and smiled proudly. And then she noticed that there didn't seem to be any cupboards. Confused, she frowned.

"There are no cupboards," she asked.

"Yes, but they are magical," Levy replied and came to her. Juvia followed them. Levy pointed to the wall next to Lucy.

"Put your hand on the smooth surface there," she said, pointing to a strange surface in the wall that Lucy had never seen before. She was suspicious. She crawled on her knees over the wide bed and hesitantly laid her palm on it. The surface glowed and then a cupboard slid out of the wall. Lucy made big eyes, then she shone broadly. It was a shelf made of a transparent material and the compartments were numerous so that she could store all her things well. There was even a rail for clothes. She beamed at the two girls, then lifted one of the suitcases onto the bed, opened it and began to put her things away.

"That's so cool. We didn't have that much magic at my old school," Lucy said, grinning broadly. Levy and Juvia watched her do something.

"Shall we help you?"

"No, no. Not yet, but thanks," said Lucy and laughed slightly, waving off. She wanted to do everything on her own. Neither at home nor at the St. Virgo Star School for Higher Daughters each girl had two servants who constantly took everything away from her. But that way Lucy didn't even know how to make coffee or tea. She had been to this boarding school from an early age and for the first time she could do things herself without being told that as a daughter of the Heartfilia empire she was not allowed to do that.

"What's the university like?" Lucy asked when she was putting her clothes away.

"Mhm ... actually ... quite normal. There are no uniforms or anything like that and you just have to learn for yourself. Hardly anything is prescribed to you," Levy said. She didn't know what Lucy was used to and she paused.

"So there is no fixed prayer hour?"

"Prayer hour?"

"No fixed mealtimes? No fixed night's rest?" Lucy asked and the two girls got bigger and bigger eyes. Lucy was excited. That promised to be an absolutely exciting time. There was a knock at the door. Juvia went to the door and opened it. Lucy herself continued to put her things away.

"Lucy... someone here wants to talk to you?" Juvia's words sounded more like a question than a statement. Levy looked at the door and got bigger eyes when she saw who was standing at the door, but didn't get a word out. Lucy went around her shelf and came to the door smiling.

"Yes?" she asked and then blinked in confusion. A guy with pink hair stood in front of her, towering over her by at least another head. He was slim, muscular, which you could notice well on his arms. He wore a tight black tank top with plain black jeans. On his right shoulder there was a black tattoo that confused her even more. The guy in front of her was completely unknown to her. His dark eyes captured her, that's how it felt. She felt heat on her cheeks. He looked good, but she knew he wasn't quite all right. His grin spoke of a man who had captured his prey.

"Can I help you?" she asked, confused. He grinned and then his left arm jumped forward, pulled her towards him and before she could do anything or say anything, his lips lay on hers. Her eyes bulged. What the ...?


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, and here is the second chapter. I hope you like it. Tell me your thoughts. A big thank you again to** _ **doginshoe**_ **, who corrected my stuff. She's adorable.**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 2**

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She was clearly in shock, staring at him with her eyes wide open. He had drawn her tightly to himself, holding her tight. She felt his warmth. His arms holding her. It was as if her mind had been shut down. And then something damp slipped over her lips and squeezed between them. Was that just his tongue? She widened her eyes even more and then she took a swing and rammed her knee between his legs. He retreated, crashed against the door frame and groaned in pain. Lucy's face was bright red and she hastily backed off as she hectically rubbed her lips.

"So you're perhaps a prude?" he grinned then, while he holding his aching crotch and rage crept up in her. She narrowed her eyes. At the St. Virgo Star School for Higher Daughters was everything was taken from them, but they were also taught self-defense. She breathed heavily as she swung around then, turning, did a roundhouse kick and rammed her foot into his face. Apparently this pink haired lump didn't seem to have expected it, because he didn't defend himself and fell backwards. However, his strong muscles seemed to catch himself before he could completely fall down.

"Woo... you are fiery after all, huh?" he asked and rubbed the slight bruise forming on his face. She had kicked properly and held back at the base.

"I want you to disappear immediately! Come on, get away, you disgusting lout," she screamed angrily and slammed the door shut. Silence lay down across the hall and a few room neighbours stuck their heads out of the door. Natsu grinned broadly, laughed and walked on. This frigid virgin would belong to him. He would make her melt and make her beg for more. Oh yes, and then he would drop her like a hot potato. She would regret that she had kicked him and rammed her knee into his more sensitive parts. She would so regret that.

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Lucy was upset. Normally she had an absolute cheerful nature and didn't get angry or vindictive quickly, but that was too much. To kiss her like that! What had thought occurred to this idiot? Levy and Juvia looked at her with open mouths and big eyes.

"Wow ..."

It came from Levy. Neither girl would have thought that Lucy could strike like that. The blonde flinched slightly, then she felt burning redness on her cheeks and smiled slightly.

"I hope I didn't scare you? At my school self-defense was a compulsory subject and after the murder of my mother father wanted me to always be able to defend myself," she said and smiled. She felt visibly uncomfortable that Levy and Juvia looked at her like that now.

"Oh, no problem. It is refreshing and reassuring that you can defend yourself," Levy said and beamed broadly.

"You know... " she began and then hesitated briefly, "I want to be honest with you, Lucy. That was Natsu. You should definitely stay away from him. He's a player," Levy said, and for a moment sadness flitted over her face.

"Just like his friends," she added. Lucy frowned. She had almost thought so. Who for god's sake just kissed strangers? Lucy mustered Levy a little closer. She seemed so incredibly sad and Lucy hurt to see the girl like that. She had been so friendly earlier, seemed so happy and joyful. Actually, she should still unpack, but she decided that she wanted to do something with them, if they would agree.

"Okay... let's forget about this idiot, he's not worth our time," she beamed at them and Levy blinked, but didn't return the smile yet. Lucy took a step towards Levy, reaching for her hands.

"Levy, Juvia, I want to be friends with you," Lucy began and now looked at Juvia, who blinked for a moment, "do you think we can do something relaxing but fun here?"

Waiting and with radiant enthusiasm in her face Lucy looked at the girls who first looked at each other and then at Lucy again. Levy smiled and laughed quietly.

"Of course we can do something," she replied and for a moment Lucy saw something glittering in her right corner of her eye, but Levy had blinked quickly. Lucy grinned broadly. Juvia giggled quietly, then she made half a jump forward and hugged Levy and Lucy.

"But what do you think is a good thing?"

"Mhm ... Magictag?" suggested Levy and Juvia looked at the small magician with big eyes, then she giggled and grinned broadly. Lucy frowned for a moment and put her head at an angle. Magictag? Did they play that here too? Lucy went to her things. If they would play Magictag, then she needed different clothes, so much was certain.

"You can play Magictag here?" she asked and looked alternately at Levy and Juvia and the two nodded enthusiastically. Redness spread over Levy's cheeks. Lucy had taken a skin tight shirt and shorts out of the suitcase. Both in black. Then she pulled out gloves and arm and knee pads. Levy and Juvia stared at her. Excitement seized Lucy, but she saw the looks of the two girls and laughed slightly nervously.

"Um... what is it? I thought we're going to play MT?" she asked and used a shortcut that only regular players normally use. Levy and Juvia's eyes got bigger than they saw.

"Um ... we're not very good and we play only in the club where the equipment is provided, but …" Levy started pointing at the clothes, "can it be that you are a regular player?"

Lucy turned red and then nodded. She cleared her throat easily, got rid of her clothes and slipped into the sportswear she had always worn at her old school. She didn't put on the protective clothing except for the gloves, then she picked out her fighting boots that had been made especially for Magictag. They were basically black, knee-high laced boots with steel caps and a special sole, as well as made of particularly robust material. She sat down on her bed for a moment and put on her boots, tied them tight so that she would have a good hold in them.

"Yes ... I ... was a member of Team Virgo Star," she noted and shrugged her shoulders. It had been her school team. Her roommates almost dropped their jaws to the floor.

"Virgo Star!" Levy screamed and Juvia only got out an eep. Lucy smiled slightly and tied her long hair up into a bun.

"Uh yes... " she began. Maybe she should have kept it a secret after all? Magictag in itself was not a classic women's game. It was a kind of tactical war game. There was a large team of 30 men, divided into three subgroups of 10 people. They competed against a foreign team of 30 men and moved through a magical field. Depending on the type of field, the ground could suddenly change or the walls could move.

The goal was to defeat the leader of the opposing team and get the flag, as well as take out so many members of the opponent. They used handguns, rifles and ranged bullets to shoot colour balls, which were operated with magic on their opponents. Close combat was also allowed. Lucy knew that her school team was quite well known and especially popular with the female fans, who were rather rare. She wasn't surprised that Levy and Juvia had heard about her team, but she was a little surprised that they seemed to be fans.

"I hope you don't mind," Lucy asked and felt nervous. She didn't want to make fun of them and swallowed easily. But Levy and Juvia beamed at her and seemed to be happy.

"That's just brilliant," Levy whispered and beamed at her with big eyes. Lucy felt a burning blush on her cheekbones. She reached into the suitcase again. She had instinctively taken her old equipment with her and now she pulled out a weapon belt and two leg holsters and the girls stared at her with big eyes.

"So then... do we play?" Lucy asked and put on her equipment. Levy and Juvia nodded eagerly. Her heartbeat accelerated and she felt howexcitement gripped her. She loved Magictag and looked forward to it. She advised the girls to choose the right clothes so that they could move well and then they made their way to the club where they could play Magictag.

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"Your face... who stepped on your dick?" Gray asked and the others laughed quietly when Natsu came back snorting rage. You could clearly hear the sarcasm dripping from the black-haired student's voice, but he wasn't laughing. Natsu growled at him angrily. He was not amused. On the contrary, he was furious.

"She kicked me," he snarled and pointed his finger at his face. Laxus pulled his head up and Gajeel made a soft whistle.

"Hooohh, the little one has something on her,' he said quietly and grinning broadly. Black smoke came out of Natsu's nostrils. A sign of how pissed off he really was. There was pure murder in the dark gaze. He absolutely didn't like it when a woman rejected him, not to mention when she kicked or hit him.

"She kicked me in the face with a roundhouse kick," he growled angrily and hit the wall. Anger was boiling in his veins and he felt the heat and the irritation burning in his fire.

"How about a round of MT against the newbies," Laxus asked and Natsu looked up, then he laughed diabolically. Crush some newcomers? With pleasure.

"Crushing a few weak newcomers will certainly lifts my spirits," he growled maliciously. Normally he stayed relatively calm, but today had pissed him off so much. Natsu slid past his boys and they followed him. They had been waiting for him on the lawn earlier to see how the first contact was going, but they didn't expect that the little Heartfilia would defend herself and apparently had some basic knowledge in self-defense and was able to do something like a roundhouse kick? Gray grinned slightly at the thought and denied the laughter.

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They had walked about 15 minutes and were already here. And Lucy thought that was just perfect. So she could come here regularly. The building was big and had a strong resemblance to a block. It was plain and simple. The walls didn't have any decorations, as it was usually the case. A sign that the building had been built by magic. The walls were in a light shade of grey and the edge of a black roof was easily visible. There were no windows at all, just a wide black double door with a magical sign hanging over it. Lucy smiled slightly and her soul mirrors glided over the letters. Fairy Magictag Center, stood there in colorful, glowing letters. Excitement filled her senses and she was already looking forward to doing her favorite sport again.

"Aren't you guys excited?" she asked and you could hear the anticipation in her voice. Her eyes shone with joy and she felt her heart beat faster ass if she had been running. Levy giggled quietly.

"You love Magictag, don't you?"

"Oh yes. It's an enormously exhausting sport, but... I just love it," she replied with a broad grin, then she grabbed Juvia's and Levy's hands and pulled them towards the door, beaming with joy. When they were only a few meters away from the door, it was suddenly ripped open and three panicked teenagers ran out. Fog and smoke followed them and wobbled out.

They were full of dirt, sweat and seemed absolutely terrified. A girl followed them, but stumbled and fell lengthways. She cried, trembled and tried to lift herself up.

"WAIT," she shouted in tears and the boys stopped, ran back to her and pulled her panically to her feet, literally fleeing. Lucy frowned.

"What the..." she started and Levy and Juvia seemed a little scared. A bad feeling crept up on her and the urge to leave was strong.

"L-Lucy... maybe..." Juvia began and put a hand on her shoulder. Lucy stared into the slightly lit hall, then tightened her shoulders and marched right into the hall. Something was wrong here and she would see why just four young people had fled panically from the magictag-hall. In her opinion no one should flee panic-stricken unless there was an acute danger to their lives.

Light fog and wads of smoke wavered around her and scattered the light of the ceiling lights, but Lucy was used to something like that and so she didn't bother about it anymore. The gaze of her brown eyes glided through the great hall, checking the situation.

The hall was huge. She stood on a kind of platform connected to a metal walkway that surrounded the entire hall, allowing spectators to watch a game from the outside. On the platform on which she stood, there was a counter on the right hand side, as well as countless shelves with equipment. The registration office for the players. On the left side there were long benches and tables so that waiting players did not have to stand around. A wide staircase led down into a sinking. Lucy stepped to a metal boundary and looked down. A playing field twice the size of a stadium extended in impressive size. There was everything the heart desired. A labyrinth, a desert, a snow desert, a jungle, a kind of canyon and a kind of inhabited area.

"Lucy?"

She turned to the voice and saw Levy and Juvia following her hesitantly. They were afraid you could see that in their eyes and Lucy felt the tension in the air, could almost smell it. But before she could say anything, she heard the laughter and the footsteps that came over metal and then a group of four young men in professional equipment came up the stairs. They laughed and joked. And Lucy sensed it immediately. These four were the reason why these other youths had escaped. Anger was flowing inside her and her hands were clenching to fists, trembling with rage. Next to her Levy gasped, but Lucy didn't know why. Her gaze lay on a guy. He just pulled a helmet off his head, the light shimmered in his salmon colored hair and his grin was wide. Her eyes narrowed into slits. And instinctively she knew it was clearly his fault.

"L-L-Lucy..." Levy began, but before she could say anything else, she had already stepped forward, put her hands on her hips and looked at the guys arrogantly.

"So it was you guys, huh? Do you enjoy torturing the weak? How cowardly are you," she said loudly and clearly. The guys froze. They hadn't noticed Levy, Juvia or Lucy until now, but her words echoed and all four stared at Lucy. She shifted her body weight, which also slightly shifted her hips, and as she looked at Natsu with a cold look, his eyes fell on her hips and his eyes narrowed. A dirty grin stretched over his lips.

"Hooohhhh..." he growled, "... someone wants to play with the big boys?" he asked and his voice dripped with sarcasm. Lucy snorted. Then she pulled a Mederia 44 out of her holster, unlocked it and shot at him before aiming. Since her weapon had a magic silencer, there was no sound and his eyes widened as red paint dripped from his forehead. Lucy smiled coolly, stepped close to Natsu and looked provocatively up at him.

"I'll ram you unpointed into the ground, idiot," she growled and pushed him aside by the shoulder. Gray and Gajeel avoided her. No one said anything, everyone just stared at her while Natsu slowly turned around. She could really feel his anger. His magic came from him in pulsating waves, but that didn't itch her any further. She knew these types of guys. Guys who thought they were absolutely special.

On the stairs she stepped up to the railing, stood with one foot on the lower one of two rungs, then she lifted herself up and stood like that on the second rung, the railing. She turned slightly sideways and looked down at Natsu and the other boys. Icy cold lay in her eyes. Some wind came up and plucked at her blond hair, while she fixed Natsu in particular. He stared back grimly.

"Who do you think you are? I'll kill anyone who dares to challenge me, if its a girl or any other," Natsu hissed and wiped the colour from his forehead with a rag that had been handed to him by one of the staff, "especially from such stupid weaklings who think they can just mess with us!"

"You will not defeat me. Because you're not strong enough to beat me in Magictag, Natsu," she hissed and a scornful grin spread across her features. She giggled, which again caused anger to boil up in him. Oh, he would make her whine for mercy. A murderous expression spread on Natsu's face.

"Come and catch me if you can," she said and the sight made him snarl angrily. Clearly, he would lay her down, would destroy her! His temper crawled through his veins cold and poisonous. She leaned forward and let herself fall. Shocked, the boys gasped, Juvia and Levy screamed and all rushed to the railing and looked down. Lucy fell the nearly 50 meters into the depth, turned in the air and then... she landed skillfully, rolled off and jogged away. Natsu growled and bared his teeth. His pupils contracted into narrow slits.

"May the game begin," he hissed and a vicious rumble followed his voice. Then he jumped after her without using the stairs. He didn't want to stop when he hunted this stupid, rich girl and killed her like an animal.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, know we are up to chapter 3 and the battle will begin. Hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts. And I know, Natsu is out of character, but bear with it. The explanation of his behavior comes in the later chapters ;)**

 **Again a big thank you to** _ **doginshoe**_ **.**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 3**

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She had slowed down her fall with magic and had landed softly and skilfully. She squatted, unrolled and jogged off. She knew exactly how to play, how to lure him so that he made a mistake making it so that she could crush him. Lucy was angry, furious with anger but not stupid. She knew for a fact that these guys had something on them. But she wasn't incompetent. She was an old member of Virgo Star and this team was just top class. Not without reason they had a regular place in the national youth championships since their foundation. They were able to keep up with the men and that made it so extreme. However, they also trained a lot.

While she felt his presence following her, her body enjoying the movement, her muscles working, her heart pounding and adrenaline burning hot through her veins. She sprinted through the residential area in lightning speed and heard the shot. Lucy whirled around. Her gaze glided searching through the air and she saw the ball of paint flying at her. She skillfully dodged, then she grinned broadly as she saw Natsu come running towards her with a murderous look. She had obviously hurt his male pride. He shot again as she walked and she waited until the bullets were close before dodging. Again and again she dodged the balls of paint, which he shot faster and faster. When they were only 4 meters apart, he put the gun away while running, then he went into a fighting position. Lucy took advantage of that, took a lunge to the side, pulled her Mederia 44, jumped forward, rolled off and shot 5 times in quick succession. Paint splashed over Natsu.

 **"PLAYER 2: 5 HITS, HEAD, SHOULDER, TORSO, THIGH, CALF. THE FIRST ROUND GOES TO PLAYER 1!"**

The metallic voice of the surveillance system echoed loudly from the walls and a Lacrima transmitted everything. Lucy got up, laughed and started moving again. Natsu growled angrily and his gaze became even more murderous.

 _That you will regret... to leave me here for 5 minutes_ , he thought boiling with rage and swore bitter revenge. She would suffer he had decided. And how her suffering would be great..

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"Uh... why is he just standing there now?" Levy asked confused and looked at the Lacrima screen, which transmitted the broadcast into the air. She had rarely had the chance to play Magictag before and only knew the general rules. But with only two players playing against each other? She didn't know the rules of that setting. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Gajeel stood next to her, his forearms on the metal. Like everyone else, he stared spellbound at the broadcast.

"The two carry a One vs. One. There are 10 rounds. If one of the players is hit and his clothes are colored, then the round is over and until the next round, the loser of the previous round is not allowed to move. One minute per hit," he said quietly. Then he took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one of the cigarettes out of the pack, stuck it between his lips and searched his pockets for his lighter, but couldn't find it. Levy sighed slightly as a blush spread across her cheeks. She raised her hand, held her fingertips in the air, softly mumbled a word, then a flame came into being that burned evenly. Gajeel lit his cigarette on the magic fire, pulled it several times and while Levy extinguished the flame again, he grinned slightly, but didn't look at it. Redness spread over her cheeks and her throat tightened.

"Thank you," he growled softly, and she bit her lower lip. Pain struck her heart and melancholy seized her.

"Its all right," she said quietly and frowned, "that means ... Lucy bought herself a five-minute head start," she looked at Gajeel now, even though it caused her physical pain to be so close to him. But she knew that he was not serious about her. She knew it, had learned it the hard way. He blew out smoke through his nostrils and then nodded.

"Aye."

"What do you mean? Will she defeat him?" asked Laxus. Levy had to grin and giggle slightly. So she had the boys' attention while she leaned on the railing with a broad grin on her face.

"She was an active member of Virgin Star," she said then and silence lay over the others. She looked at the guys who always followed Natsu so broadly and took part in his stupid betting game. Everyone looked at her with big disbelieving eyes. Gajeel stared at her for a moment and for a moment the cool look became soft. But that movement was gone so quickly that you could think he had never been there. The boys burst into a resounding laughter. That was so shitty again that it was amusing. Natsu was finished by a player from the youth professional league. Everyone knew what the reputation of this team was like, they all knew it. Natsu could not win this game at all. Natsu's friends were hanging from the railings and laughing at the irony that their buddy was going to be killed by a rich, spoiled girl.

"So... what do you think?" Gray started and tilted his head while the counter indicated how long Natsu was still tied up. Lucy had meanwhile already arrived in the jungle and seemed to be building traps? He frowned slightly. She laid traps? How did she know where Natsu would ambush her? It had been about 2 minutes so far and when she ran towards the desert and seemed to lay traps there, he was confused. Such a tactic... he had not yet seen.

"Eight to three for Lucy", said Laxus and grinned broadly.

"Ten to nothing for Lucy," Levy replied and the boys stared at her. That Levy interfered was a rarity and she took the wind out of their sails.

"I'm not betting, but I tell you, that's how it's going to end," she said, smiling broadly. Then she turned her eyes and attention back to the Lacrima. Juvia next to her bit her lower lip and watched spellbound as Lucy fought.

Gajeel pulled on his cigarette and blew the smoke out through the nostrils. He looked down at Levy, who stared anxiously at the Lacrima, following her friend. His heartbeat accelerated. He wanted to touch her, taste the flavour of her skin again, smell her scent. At that time everything had just gone to shit. And if it hadn't been for that fucking bet, they'd be together now. He regretted that Natsu had chosen her as his target.

"Levy..." he started and she flinched. Redness spread to her cheeks as she looked at him with an evil eye. Pain lay in those big doe eyes and it strangled his throat.

"Leave me alone, Redfox. You said it very clearly back then. Just a bet, no more and no less. So leave me alone now," she hissed and he sighed. She would never forgive him, even if he knew that she loved him. He looked at her. It was in her eyes and he wished he had just shit on the bet back then. Or he could have just told her what was going on. Then it would never have come this far and he would not be in the shit now. He drove himself with one hand through the black, thick hair and sighed annoyed. A loud ringing sounded.

 **"THE TIME LIMIT HAS EXPIRED! THE SECOND ROUND STARTS!"**

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She had laid traps and bombs of magic. It was an old tactic, which had only been used in her team when there were hardly any players left and the opponent outnumbered. She knew that men liked to call this tactic cowardly and underhanded, but she didn't think so at all. She was allowed and it wasn't as if she was going to wipe Natsu out with it. She would slow him down with it. It was also effective and she knew that he was hunting her. She simply knew it. A big grin lay over her lips and she rose out of the desert sand, looked around and looked up.

She saw the Lacrima screens, but players couldn't see the screen at all. A soft giggle came loose from her lips, then she loosened her shoulders. That was when she heard the loud noise of detonations and had to grin broadly. He seemed to be running through the jungle and not even paying any attention to whether there were any traps. A loud angry roar filled the air and she giggled. Then she lay down on the floor and waited. Between the end of the jungle and her was a good 100 meters. And she lay flat on the edge of a dune so that she was heightened and he was not. She would be able to see him. A broad grin distorted her lips.

And then she saw him. He limped furiously out of the jungle and cursed all the time. She suppressed a giggle. Just don't stand out now. She pushed herself a little further forward and aimed, waiting while he got closer and closer. Natsu was so angry that it could almost scare you. Again adrenaline flowed through her veins. Meanwhile he had bridged half the way to her and was fighting his way up the dune. Light fell on the cold metal of her weapon. He seemed to freeze and still wasn't fast enough. She fired a shot and paint poured down his face. He suppressed a curse..

 **"PLAYER 2: HEADSHOT. THE SECOND ROUND GOES TO PLAYER 1!"**

Natsu stood frozen in the hot desert sand and Lucy stood up, kneeled the few meters above him on all fours, then she stood up and snorted amused. Anger drew his face as the knowledge hit him. She grinned broadly, then she jumped into the air, landed next to him in the sand.

"Aww... hit again, poor little guy," she said giggling and then strutted past him. His body was tense and trembling with rage. She would regret this so much. He swore it to himself.

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 **"PLAYER 2: 3 HITS SHOULDER, NECK, BACK OF THE HEAD. THE EIGHTH ROUND GOES TO PLAYER 1!"**

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He just couldn't believe it. Sweat stuck on his forehead and he growled angrily. His heart hammered against his ribs. Slowly he really had enough. He had simply not yet been able to land a single hit. And that irritated him to no end. He was a good player. He had always won all the games so far. And what was that? He lost against a girl. A rich one by the way. He had actually thought Lucy was a simple, classic doll, but no. She was clearly not a doll. His shoulder was still aching and he felt that this was clearly a strain on him. She had almost dislocated it earlier.

He knew he was at a disadvantage. She had three minutes again to ride things past and determine the place of the fight. Natsu had to admit to himself that he had made a damn mistake. He had underestimated a woman just because she came from a rich, noble family. But he wouldn't let it get him down that easily. If there was only the chance for him to knock her out. That would be his victory. If she couldn't do the last round. A broad grin covered his lips and his gaze wandered around. They were again in the residential area and he knew she was still here. She watched him, he could feel her gaze on him, could smell her, could hear her breath. He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe steadily. When he ran off furiously head over heels and tried to get through the next wall, he would run straight into her crossfire again. Now he had absolutely no desire for it. He took a deep breath and felt the heat rise in him, breathed fire. Fire began to spread on the floor and became stronger with each breath. It seemed to pulsate.

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 **"THE TIME LIMIT HAS EXPIRED! THE NINTH ROUND STARTS!**

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He felt her, heard her footsteps. His eyes opened, swirled around and he ducked away under the bullet that was racing towards him and paint splashed over the wall behind him. Natsu grinned broadly. Lucy stood on one of the roofs. Individual blonde strands had come loose from her bun and a draught of air whirled them around. The electric light played around her slender figure. She looked down on him and he sprinted off. She was waiting for him and he knew she wanted to play. She was a player and a simple victory would be too boring for her. He had come to understand that during this game. She didn't want to give him the victory and she didn't make it easy for him, but he wasn't a stupid little dog. He jumped forward and rolled off, crashed into the wall as more bullets hit the floor. His heart pounded deafeningly loud against his chest and echoed in his ears. Adrenaline was rushing in his veins. She was above him, he knew it, he could smell her.

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"Wow... she's really as good as Levy said," Laxus said and took a sip of his Coke, grinning broadly. He liked Natsu, honestly, but sometimes it was good when he got a little mute. They all thought so, even if nobody said it. Lucy was standing on the roof of one of the houses, standing close to the edge, while Natsu had dodged one of her shots and leaned against the wall. They were impressed by Lucy's skill. Ten rounds were hard and when they thought that Lucy hadn't made the impression at first, it really seemed like she was going to win. Natsu simply had no chance. Gray had picked out some articles about Virgo Star earlier. For security reasons the names of the players on such a team were not published and they wore helmets. But they were amazed at how uncompromisingly and ruthlessly Virgin Star had fought their way into the youth league finals. There had to be so much training behind it that it was already abnormal. They only lost to one team and finished second behind Red Death.

"She thinks she could hit him reasonably from the position?" Gajeel asked out loud, expressing the thoughts of the others. Lucy looked down and you could see the grin on her lips. Then she stepped back a half meter, took a run-up, sprinted off, jumped into the air and while she was still in the air, spinning, she shot several times in a row. Natsu had also fired and silence was spreading. Lucy squatted on the floor and then rose.

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 **"PLAYER 2: 5 HEADSHOTS. THE NINTH ROUND GOES TO PLAYER 1!"**

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"I can't believe that now," Gray said and stared at the Lacrima with his eyes wide open. Natsu had also fired. What had happened to the balls? Natsu just hit the wall furiously and then their eyes widened. On the floor blue paint was evaporating. One of the employees approached the perimeter.

"She fired six bullets, one fended off his bullet. If she hadn't, she would also have taken a hit. I'm really amazed that this girl is so good and that Natsu is in her pocket like that," he said and smiled slightly.

"However... she's only playing with him," he said then and the others looked at him confusedly.

"In what way?"

"She could flatten him as soon as he could move again. The fact that she can take five precise headshots with a Mederia 44 shows what a damn strong opponent she is."

"She said she'd finish him off."

"Yes, but a Mederia is not a precision weapon. Not like a sniper weapon. And she uses it like that," he said, and silence lay over the students again.

"She is a former member of Virgo Star," Levy said quietly and the employee looked at her, then he laughed out loud.

"Natsu is sometimes so stupid," he said laughing, shaking his head and turning back to his work. The others grinned.

"Yes, but normally he has his heart in the right place," said Laxus. Levy snorted and attracted the attention of the others.

"Of course ... that's why you bet on whether or not you can get girls into bed. I know," she hissed and Gajeel's heart contracted. It hurt him to see her like that, but that was something he would not admit, he could not admit. Another whistle sounded and the tenth and last round began. Levy looked back at the Lacrima screens. Lucy jumped up in front of a house, grabbed a metal pole sticking out of the wall, and lifted herself up. She squatted on the bar. Natsu had followed her, ran around the corner and saw her, pulled out his gun. Lucy jumped up again the second he fired, dodging the bullets. Levy's hands clung so tightly to the metal of the perimeter that her knuckles turned white. Lucy pulled herself up against the house wall and disappeared on the roof. Natsu cursed, then he also jumped up, pulled himself up on the metal pole to follow her. Lucy looked over the house wall and shot. Natsu had apparently thought that she would run away from him and not that she was luring him into a trap.

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 **"PLAYER 2: 4 HEADSHOTS. THE TENTH ROUND GOES TO PLAYER 1! THE ONE VS ONE IS FINISHED! WINNER IS PLAYER 1!"**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, here we are. Chapter 4. Hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts. Again a big thank you to my beta** _ **doginshoes**_ **.**

.

 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 4**

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She went up the stairs and grinned wide. Slowly she felt the exhaustion, but she didn't let it show. She never had. Lucy knew she had stomped him into the ground and it felt great. She loved to play, loved magictag and of course, she loved to win. And probably it hadn't been fair to delay everything for such a long time, but he should feel what it felt like to be ice-cold finished. After all, he'd finished off these four unfamiliar teenagers and risked a big mouth. Then he shouldn't have to be surprised if he got a return. Natsu was a little further behind her, she could feel his anger and magic, but she didn't care.

When she returned to the entrance area, she grinned broadly and the others welcomed her. The boys grinned as wide as she did and Juvia and Levy fell around her neck laughing.

"Wow, that was an absolute mega performance."

"This was the first time Natsu had ever been so beaten up."

"SHUT UP", his angry exclamation ripped the hum of praise towards Lucy and they all looked at him. He snorted and fixed her angrily.

"So... how did you do that, huh? Did you cheat?" he asked growling and she pulled her brows together. Couldn't someone lose? Her lips turned to a broad grin, then she laughed.

"I'm a former active member of Virgin Star," she said, shrugging her shoulders. His jaw dropped down, "but hey. You took my challenge, so keep your cheeky mouth shut. Someone who plays with so little mind and love has rarely come across me. Even the guys from Red Death played with more devotion than you and we even got broken bones and if I hadn't dodged one of the shots from one of their snipers, I probably would have died. Magictag is not a game to harass others, all right? It's a tactical war game," she said, and coldness lay in her brown eyes. Her words had silenced the others. Levy looked at Lucy with big eyes. She would have died in the championships? Bewilderment was also in the faces of the others. Nobody had heard anything about it. Sure, there were injuries, but... it was only color with which they shot. Could someone really die? Natsu also frowned confusedly.

"You almost died? Through paint? Are you serious?" he asked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Somehow he couldn't really believe it. Lucy rolled his eyes.

"Sure, when the weapons are restyled like Red Death's," she said, remembering how much impact the enemy's weapons had had. This team had wanted them all dead. She smiled and then pulled up the black long top that was close to her skin. She pulled it up to her ribs and when Natsu saw the ugly scar tissue that destroyed her flawless porcelain skin, he was stunned.

His heart stopped for a moment and everyone else was speechless. His anger seemed to fizzle out and he couldn't take his eyes off her skin and scar. Lucy just smiled and you could see that she carried this old scar with pride. The skin was reddish and was like a notch in the soft pale skin. The edges were bulging and it looked like someone had ripped something out of her body. Not deep, only superficial, but it was enough to destroy the perfection of her body.

"Unfortunately it was a graze shot", Lucy said and Natsus eyes flew up to her own. She pulled the cloth down again and he swallowed easily. She was even wounded and he realized that she took this game much more seriously than he had ever done. Before he could say anything, Lucy looked at her friends and grinned broadly.

"So... do we still want to play or do we go back to the dorm?"

"Uh... "

"Juvia would love to go back," Juvia replied and Levy nodded. She had just been shocked. She hadn't expected anything like this to happen to her new friend. And it scared her. Magictag was a war game, of course, but so far she had never considered it so dangerous. Lucy smiled. She understood it and nodded.

"Okay, then we'll go back," she said and waved to the boys, completely ignoring Natsu, and to the hall employee and saying goodbye. They left the hall and walked through the city back to campus. Lucy yawned cautiously.

"Are you tired already? Because of the game?" Levy asked and grinned slightly. The blonde grinned back and shrugged her shoulders. The game had been minimally exhausting. Real competitions were much more strenuous, because you had to keep an eye on several opponents. So she shook her head only slightly, grinned.

"Not from the game. That did wear me out a bit, but rather because of the ride," she admitted and grinned broadly.

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Natsu ran his fingers through his hair and sighed slightly. His shoulder protested as he moved, but he ignored it. She impressed him, even though somewhere he was still angry about his scratched ego. But he just couldn't change it anymore. And if he considered it carefully, then he hadn't had a real chance to win against her. She had been in the professional league. Well, she had only played in the junior league, but still. Maybe she could become a member of the team? After all, the university also had a team. But they weren't really strong. They were rather middle class and even if he didn't like to admit it, it simply irriated him.

"And what do we do now?"

"Good question, ask another one," growled Gray. Natsu loosened his shoulders, at least he tried. He pulled out his lacrimapad, took a look at it and frowned for a moment, then his lips turned to a big grin.

"We have an assignment," he said and laughed quietly. The others listened, looked at Natsu, who took a cigarette from Gajeel, stuck it between his lips and ignited it with his magic.

"A mission", Laxus asked, and the boys started to move, left of the hall. Natsu nodded and blew smoke into the air.

"Aye, Raven Blood is causing trouble again," he noted, "Erza says a raid is planned in the western part. Must be a drug deal."

"Interesting. Who's running it?"

"Erza's unity. Mira will keep out of it this time. We're supposed to stop by. As a backup," he added, enjoying the taste of the tobacco flowing through his lungs. The others also grinned as Natsu lifted his gaze from the device's display and he saw the silent approval in the eyes of the others. They stepped into the parking lot in front of the building and ran to the motorcycles they had come on earlier. Each put on a magic headset so they could communicate on the road if necessary. He pulled the cigarette one last time, then flicked it to the ground.

"Well then, let's go stir up some idiots who think they can shower our city with drugs," Natsu said and they started their machines, which came to life with a loud thunder. Of course, it would be easier if they let a car come, but none of them wanted to. And they were in the southern part, so the western part wasn't too far away. Houses just flew past them as they shot through the streets. While they were driving in the direction Erza had given them, Natsu called her to let her know.

"Scarlett," she growled after a click and Natsu suppressed a laugh. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins. He loved speed and accelerated again.

"Jo, are on the way. Exact location?"

"The warehouses, you'll see it as soon as you get there," she just gave back and his grin became diabolical.

"I'm already really hot on it," he growled and heard the annoyed sigh, but Erza didn't say anything about it, just hung up. Natsu, who drove at the head of the small squad, made a daring turn and skilfully turned and drove in the right direction and his boys followed him without a moment's hesitation. Today he would be able to rip some asses open.

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When they arrived at the warehouses in question, Natsu already heard and saw the fights. For a moment he pulled a light pout because nobody seemed to have waited for him. But well, his team was the backup. Simply because they usually broke everything apart. He saw Erza's red shining hair, which was just led by a wooden sword. She ducked cleverly under her opponent, hit her opponent's throat and he overturned, fell unconscious to the ground. Natsu turned off his machine, pulled the helmet off his head and let his gaze wander. A total of 10 members of Fairy Tail were present, who were ready to arrest about 20 criminals.

"Do they need our help at all?" asked Laxus, who leaned forward on his machine and looked at the whole thing. "It can't do any harm, can it? After all, we are the backup and so we can rub Erza's nose in that she needed our help," Natsu said and laughed quietly. Then he swung off his machine, made sure it didn't fall over and loosened his shoulders again, stepping towards the fighting ones. Oh, that would be fun and clearly exhausting, he was convinced. Better than the fight with Lucy. And he could let out his pent-up aggression on these idiots. A guy he didn't know ran roaring towards him, swinging an iron bar. Natsu skilfully avoided the attack and then kicked the guy in the face. Then the guy simply fell over.

"Well then, let's go", growled Gajeel and the others followed their leader.

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Lucy pushed through the rows of seats. Today she had her first course, her first lecture and was looking forward to it. Her heart was beating up to her neck and she was already jittery to learn new things. And although she wanted to change, she continued to wear her old clothes. She had already got funny looks and that was absolutely unpleasant for her. She wore a white blouse and a long dark blue skirt reaching to the middle of her calves. Simple wedge sandals in black completed her outfit. Loki sat two rows behind her at her request. What could happen to her here? Someone sat next to her. The room was already well filled. And she looked up to see who was sitting next to her. When she saw Natsu next to her she flinched back. Confusion gripped her senses. What was he doing here?

He grinned at her and leaned back. Her eyes scurried over his appearance. He wore a tank top, black jeans, jumper boots and a black leather jacket. Her brow twitched upwards, but she said nothing. Wasn't he a year above her?

"Uh..." she brought out and he grinned wider.

"Hello, beauty. Long time no see," he said and she pulled her eyebrows together. Yes, it was exactly a weekend ago. She had arrived last Friday and luckily hadn't seen him over the weekend. And that was a good thing. He looked good, yes. But his character was just disgusting and she knew about his reputation. Natsu leaned slightly in her direction as the auditorium filled slowly.

"So... my little flower," he grumbled and she opened her eyes. Did he just call her a little flower? She blinked and snorted slightly.

"Leave me alone. Aren't you a year above me? Then what are you doing here, mhm?" she growled and he shrugged his shoulders with a crooked grin.

"I have to repeat the course", he said and her eyes widened. Then he leaned towards her with a grin on his face and came quite close to her. Too close for her taste and she leaned aside to avoid him. Something that automatically lifted her upper softness and made her stand out even more than before. He grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

"How about we learn together, my little star," he asked with a broad grin and she felt redness on her cheeks. Why did he have to give her these stupid nicknames? She didn't understand it.

"L... leave me alone. I will not learn with you. You can do that very well alone", she brought out, but she was insecure. It was other on the magictagfields. . Her heartbeat accelerated restlessly.

"Sure? I wanted to offer you to join ou university team without having to do the test," he said and shrugged his shoulders. A fellow student pushed Lucy roughly aside to sit down and she was thrown directly against Natsu. His face landed between her breasts and she hissed in shock, but he laughed quietly and detached himself from her.

"Team," she asked and frowned in confusion. Natsu shrugged her shoulders.

"Yes ... magictag. The university has a team but normally you have to do a test to be able to join us and ... normally we don't take girls, but since you're good ..."

"I'm in," she said, and her eyes were glowing. Her heart was racing. Magictag! The university had a team where she could play! His brows went up and the grin on his lips widened as he bent over again, grabbed a blonde strand and wrapped it around his left index finger.

"But only when you study with me, my Beauty," he purred and again her cheeks burned with shame at this nickname. It was unpleasant for her and why for gods sake did he play with her hair? She didn't really like that. She bit her lower lip and he leaned forward to her again. Uncertainly, she looked to the side and saw the professor of the course come in and put his documents on the desk. She swallowed. She wanted to play Magictag again and sighed.

"All right ... but only on one condition," she said and smiled at him. Salmon eyebrows went up.

"And that would be?

"Loki comes with me," she replied. He frowned his and went through his hair, but still didn't let go of her strand. Then he leaned back and shrugged his shoulders.

"For all I care," he growled and she grinned. Then she pulled on her strand of hair and he reluctantly let go. She turned her eyes forward to the professor and listened to his explanations. While he explained things, she took notes and her thoughts were completely fixed on them. Magic in combat was incredibly wide-ranging.

"Read chapters 1-5 until the next lesson and think about what kind of magic you want to learn to expand," the professor pushed his sheets together, Lucy eagerly scribbled his homework, "see you all on the next thursday."

And so he finished the lecture. Lucy bent down and picked up her bag, which she had placed in front of her feet on the floor, then pushed in her notebook, pencil case and textbook and looked up. Natsu next to her was asleep in his chair. She blinked as everyone around her packed up as well. She frowned. Was he serious? He was asleep? In class? No wonder he had to repeat the course. She sighed and stabbed him in the cheek. But that didn't help. The girl who had sat next to her snorted amusedly.

"Just let the rowdy sleep, he'll fall through anyway, the idiot. How he made it to university surprised me anyway," she said, laughed hatefully and marched away. Lucy looked after her with big eyes. How could anyone be so rude? Sure, he was a player and had also behaved quite stupidly, but ... was he such a bad person? After all, he had been accepted at university, hadn't he? He couldn't have been that stupid. She shook his shoulder.

"Natsu, wake up," she said quietly and ignored the giggling of the other students. Then Loki pushed herself to her.

"Lucy," he asked and looked at her waiting. Lucy smiled.

"Uh... I can't get him awake," she said and Loki looked at Natsu. His eyes became narrow. Then he grabbed the sleeper by the right cheek, pinched in and pulled Natsu up from the chair. This immediately woke Natsu up and he slapped Loki's hand away.

"Dude, what are you doing?" he nagged and rubbed his red cheek.

"Very nice, you're awake. Lucy-sama, can we go then?" Loki asked coolly and looked at his guarded friend waiting. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes Loki. We can," she said and shoved herself past Natsu, shouldering her bag, but the latter held her by the arm and pulled her towards him.

"Loki is a guy," he asked and pulled his brows together angrily. Lucy looked up at him, smiled and nodded. She took her arm from him and then quickly pushed Loki out of the auditorium and followed him. Natsu just let her stand. He clenched his hands to fists and was annoyed. His dark eyes followed the two and he growled. This Loki wouldn't get in his way. Under no circumstances. Lucy would belong to him!

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 **AN: So ... thank you for all your support. In german, my story is up to chap 12. And I have to say: sometimes I really got depressed in so much desinterest in my story. I mean I ask myself, if my writing is not good enough because of so little feedback. And some people dropped my story, because not enough NaLu(even if I had written in my summary, that the mainpairings are NaLu, GaLe, Gruvia and Miraxus). And yeah ... I got depressed and had fallen in a deeeep creativydeep. And after I oke part in a little writingcompetition and put so much work and love into it, only one person ratet for my. Yes I know I'm selfish and stuff, but I requested myself: I'm not good enough? And that broke my creativity again. But then I startet translate this because some person wanted to read it and know here are we. You all are so sweet, giving me so much backup. Thank you. You're words are so important to me *overwhelms everyone with hearts***

 **And know I'm nearly crying haha XD**

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 **Love you guys, Z**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, and here we are. Chapter 5. I hope you like it. Tell me what you think. And this chapter is unchecked.**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 5**

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"Age your shoulder looks like shit", Gajeel laughed quietly while he was looking at the shoulder. The otherwise slightly tanned skin shimmered blue and violet, with the edges already green. Natsu just snorted while he let himself fall on his bed, reached for his cigarettes and lit them with his magic. He closed his eyes and let himself fall back, staring at the ceiling while trying not to strain this shoulder any more. It still hurt slightly and Porlyusica had lectured him so much that he had felt like the stupidest person on the world. He closed his eyes and thought of the fight when Lucy had almost dislocated his shoulder.

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 _He just dodged the shot while his breath went faster and sweat stuck to him. The blonde ran towards him, avoiding his shots as well, but she was much more skillful. He swallowed slightly and understood. She would go into close combat, he saw how she put her Mederia 44 in the holster and pulled a red shimmering weapon. The blade got longer, was about 30cm long. The polish section was strange, it was jagged and he knew a real weapon of this kind would hurt damn as hell. He fired a shot, but she just dodged it by leaning back and rolling. Faster than expected she got back on her feet and he cursed._

 _Then she jumped up and he hastily backed off, put his gun away and also pulled his blue blade. She was already much too close and the red blade shot forward. Close combat, however, was something where no one could fool him so quickly. His heart pounded, burning adrenaline pumped through his veins. She whirled around and performed a roundkick upwards, which he blocked with his forearm. He pulled out, punched his left fist forward and noticed his mistake. She bent back, swerved his punch, grabbed his arm and skillfully turned him back, climbed on his back and clasped his hips with her legs so he couldn't get her off. And then she pulled, leaned back and to the side and pain roared through his shoulder. He cursed and threw himself against the wall, trying to throw her off. He heard her wheeze and hoped she would let him go. He couldn't afford a dislocated shoulder._

 _With his right arm he tried to catch her with his knife, but she cleverly turned away. So he threw himself again against the wall in his back and heard her painful wheeze and a disgusting crack. Had he broken something in her? But apparently she wasn't willing to let him go, because she was still clinging. And while he leaned forward panting in prepare for more power to get her from his back, Lucy threw herself aside with so much force, putting new strain on his arm. Pain roared in his shoulder and he groaned. He cursed and got hold of her as he reached back with the other arm, pulled her from his back and threw her over himself to the ground. Lucy rolled off, got on her feet and put three balls of paint on his chest. Sweat beads stood on her forehead, while a grim smile lay on her full lips._

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"What are you thinking about?"

"I honestly never would have thought that someone like Lucy could play Magictag and then be as good as she is," he said, growling slightly, pulling on the cigarette and blowing the smoke towards the ceiling. Gajeel laughed quietly.

"Somehow I'm not surprised," he noted and silence lay over the room while Natsu was smoking and Gajeel ignored his cousin. He almost thought that the black-haired man had fallen asleep when he broke the silence again.

"Natsu, I must tell you something', Gajeel said and Natsu frowned confusedly, straightened up groaning, which was not so easy with a maltreated shoulder. Waiting, he looked at his counterpart, looked at him as he pulled on his cigarette again and inhaled the nicotine. Gajeel sighed slightly and rubbed his scarred hands over his neck. He seemed tense and restless.

"Go spit it out", Natsu growled and narrowed his eyes.

"Can you remember Levy?"

"Yes, of course, the little bluenette," Natsu replied and was confused. What was this about, please? Gajeel seemed ... nervous and that confused the salmon haired one enormously. Normally his cousin was calm and there was always this cold and subliminal aggression. But that ...

"I ...", Gajeel paused and clenched his hands to fists, then he raised his eyes, "... I won't take part in any more bets. Levy is important to me", Gajeel then said and Natsu, who had just stuck the rest of his cigarette between his lips, stared at him. He was decently confused and blinked. Then he pulled his brows together and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. Was he serious? Was the little one so good that he couldn't keep his fingers off her, or what?

"Gajeel, dude ... what are you doing?" Natsu asked bewildered and rammed the stump into the ashtray next to him on the bed. He looked at him waiting. Waiting for what his counterpart would say to him now. He was tense, you could tell. His whole body was strained and Natsu could just smell the restlessness.

"I love her and will try to get her," he said then and red eyes fixed dark greens. Natsu stared at him. Silence lay over the room and only the ticking of the clock on the wall showed that time had not stopped. And then Natsu burst out laughing, rolled off the bed laughing and crashed to the floor. His shoulder hurt, but he didn't care. Tears of laughter ran down his cheeks.

"Where's the joke?" Gajeel asked angrily and immediately Natsus laughter stopped and he lifted his head, straightened up. And when he looked into Gajeel's serious red eyes, he realized that Gajeel was absolutely serious.

"You' re joking."

"No, I'm not," Gajeel replied with a grim look and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Natsu stared at him in disbelief. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well if you like such little girls", he growled Gajeel's eyes became narrow while he fixed his opposite.

"Listen, you bird. In contrast to you I at least realize that my actions were bullshit. I hurt her, I caused her a wound in her heart that I will never be able to fix again", the black-haired man became more and more mad the longer he spoke. Then he got up and looked down on Natsu in a derogatory way.

"We may be friends, but that doesn't mean I'll forget the shit," he growled and rage resonated in every word. He knew that he was not innocent. He had stained Levy, had broken her heart and trampled on it. He knew it and wished he could go back in time and change it, stop it. How much he wished he hadn't done everything he had done to her. But if there was something he couldn't do, it was to turn back time. Natsu laughed quietly.

"You betrayed her and now all of a sudden you bend?" Natsu also stood up and grinned slightly. Then he shrugged with his uninjured shoulder.

"Then good luck with her. Even if I don't believe, that she wanna take ya back", Natsu bent down and pulled another cigarette out of the box and lit it, inhaled the smoke deeply and then blew it towards Gajeel. This one snarled at him and then marched out of the room. Natsu laughed again, pulling again on the cigarette and inhaling the deadly poison. Then he crossed the room, stepped through the wide glass door that led to the balcony and stepped outside. A wall of cold air welcomed him and goose bumps spread over his body, but he ignored it. His gaze glided around and he felt the deep darkness of the night. He didn't pay attention to what time it was, he didn't care. Gajeel was in love. That was absolutely not understandable to him, especially as he didn't think that the two fit well together, but if he meant.

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Her steps led her through the countless shelves and the smell of old paper and glue filled the air. Levy's gaze glided over the spines of the book and she chewed on her lower lip. Her gaze was searching and when she found what she was looking for she reluctantly pulled her lips. The book was out of her reach. As if the height of the shelves wanted to mob her as a small person. She stretched out, stood on her toes and held on to the shelf with her right hand as she tried to get a copy of Lock Droyd on magic weapons. And although she made herself as long as possible, it wasn't enough. She still needed about 20 centimeters to get to the book. Frustrated, she stood on her toes and tightened her eyebrows. When suddenly a big hand grabbed the book, pulled it out.

She literally froze, had recognized this hand all too well. Her heart rate started again twice as fast and then she felt him resting the book on her head, but obviously not releasing it yet. Because that was his way. A shiver caught her body as she sank a little and stood there again, slowly reaching for the book, turning around. She kept her eyes to the ground. Her heart was aching, burning in agony. He wore classic black. As always. A black pair of jeans, black springer boots. Her gaze wandered higher and saw the black muscle shirt. Her brown soul mirrors glided over his arms. The tanned skin was scarred, provided with piercings. She refused looking into his face. And accordingly she turned away her gaze, looked to the side.

"Thank you," Levy whispered and then walked stiffly, but with quick steps, back the rows of bookshelves to her table. She didn't want to see him, didn't want to hear his voice. But she knew he wouldn't leave her alone. She knew him too well. Anyway, she had thought so once. Because the fact that he had betrayed and used her, she hadn' t expected that, hadn't seen it coming. She could feel his magic, his presence and swallowed the thick lump down her throat as when she sat down wordlessly, putting the book aside and reaching for the pencil.

"Levy ...," he began and she flinched. Her heart pounded up to her neck and her throat tightened.

"Go away," she interrupted him and cursed herself for her trembling voice. It was clearly audible to everyone. But she was alone with him. Because at that time only she was still here. Next to the librarian, who never seemed to sleep. Her lower lip trembled and she bit into it. She had to be strong. She didn't want to give him a weak point. But she knew that Gajeel was stubborn and never let loose. Not if he believed that he could win. She heard the scraping of a chair and pulled her shoulders up while staring rigidly at her notes. Her fingers cramped around the wood of the pencil and she felt suffocated. Did he just not understand it? She wanted him to leave her alone! He had broken her heart! Because of a fucking bet.

"Just listen to me to the end, okay? After that I'll go and you can go on working in peace," he said and his voice sounded rough and husky, "I know that I've done absolute shit. And I would undo it if I could. I never understood it before. It was a game and most girls ... knew our reputation. I'm sorry that with you ... that ... I never wanted to hurt you. Even if you can't believe me or don't want to. I know that. The time with you was the absolutely most beautiful time I ever had. You are my heart, my light. I have fallen in love with you, Levy McGarden, and I know that you can never forgive me. I don't want you to think that I only played with you. But ... I'm ... shit I'm not good with words, okay? You know that and ... I'm sorry."

His words burned like fire and she had the feeling that acid would eat through her veins. She kept staring at her papers, unable to move. She heard the pain in his voice, heard his feelings. And she knew him. He had actually always been honest. In the time they had been together, he had never told her that he loved her, he had basically made no promises to her. She had just been stupid enough to let him in. Tears started to grow in her eyes. And now all of a sudden ... now out of the blue, where she was about to end it, he arrived and confessed his love to her? Anger and pain raged in her heart and her stomach pulled itself together. The softend noise of the chair legs came to her ears and he sighed.

"I ... go then again. I hope that you find someone who is not an ass. Like me", his voice was rough and she heard the trembling and the insecurity in it. And then she listened to the footsteps that were muffled by the carpet.

Her heartbeat increased again, she pressed her lips tightly together and a shudder ran through her body. Tears dripped on the paper and she flinched, straightened up and stuffed her documents into her pocket, then she jumped up and looked around. A dull growl escaped her lips. That was it? Was he serious? Hot fiery rage crept through her veins. So he didn't want to fight for her? He just left? After his confession? Was he serious? She stood up jerkily and then marched in the direction he had disappeared. Overcame the high rows of noble wooden shelves, walked through the entrance hall, past a tired librarian. Anger glowed in her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks. She ragingly wiped them away with the sleeve of her sweater and stepped through the wide gate, which was decorated with fine tendrils. The stonemasons and wood carvers had done a wonderful job back then, but she had absolutely no eyes for it today. Magic pulsated enraged around her, radiating from her in small waves as she followed Gajeel angrily. He was already on the wide stairs leading to the gigantic library that was enthroned on the unicampus. She stopped for a moment, then growled a word and threw a ball of magic at his head. She was absolutely unfocused and so she only managed to get him to notice her and take no serious damage.

"IS THAT EVERYTHING?" she yelled madly. Gajeel whirled around and stared at her with big eyes. His eyes seemed treacherously glassy. Unbelief was written in his features. Apparently he had expected everything, but not that she ran after him yelling at him. Her body trembled with rage and her hands had clenched to fists.

"YOU CONFESS YOUR LOVE TO ME AND THEN RUN AWAY? IS THAT THE GAJEEL REDFOX THAT I KNOW?" She raved in rage, shouting at him. The otherwise warm eyes seemed pitch-black with rage. The soft light of the Lacrimalaternen cast deep shadows and made him appear even darker than he already was. He blinked confused, pulled the pierced brows together.

"Levy ... what ..."

"You're a cowardly asshole," she hissed angrily and came down the stairs at a goose step. His brows wandered toward his hairline and his heartbeat quickened as he retreated a little. She seemed so angry he had never seen her before. She stood in front of him and rammed a pointed index finger into his chest.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH? DO YOU THINK YOU'RE JUST RIGHT TO PULL YOURSELF OUT OF RESPONSIBILITY SO EASILY? DID YOU JUST WANT TO TORTURE ME WITH IT?"

"Uh ... "

"BUT SURE ENOUGH, YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ENOUGH WITH ME YET, HAVE YOU? LET'S TORTURE THE STUPID LITTLE NERD!" she rammed her index finger into his chest at every word. He was just perplexed and confused. His words had been absolutely honest. He didn't think she would freak out like that and guilt filled him.

"Levy ... "

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK YOU CROSSWISE, YOU PUSSY! SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T EVEN WANT TO FIGHT FOR SOMEONE HE SUPPOSEDLY LOVES, I DON'T WANT HIM! YOU'RE NOT VALUABLE TO MINE, YOU MAGGOT," she screamed and tears kicked her in the eyes again.

"YOU BROKE MY HEART! WHAT DOES YOU THINK, WHAT DO YOU ARE ACHIEVING WITH THIS WORD?" It broke his heart that she was standing here, yelling at him and crying. Tears ran down her cheeks, dripping on the light blue fluffy sweater she was wearing. His heart raise faster, hammering against his ribs. His throat tightened and he swallowed violently. His hands trembled as she had now stopped pricking with her index finger. She had pulled her shoulders up and cried, wiping away the tears, but they wouldn't stop. Gajeel cursed himself inside. He had not wanted to hurt her any more! He, the oh so big, strong, bad guy. His heart ached at the sight of her and he took a trembling breath. Did he even have the right to hold her in his arms? Because that is exactly what he would most like to do. Pull her into his arms, hold her tight and never let go again. He wanted to stroke her head and kiss those tears away. He did not want to lose her, believing that he had already had lost her.

He swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and then pulled her over. She seemed so fragile in his arms and when she felt his touch, she strained immediately. He held her tight, buried his face in her soft hair and felt tears burst into his eyes. He the tall Gajeel began to howl like a damn little baby.

"It ... I am ... I am sorry, Levy", he brought out. She tried to squirm out of his arms, but he did not let her go, kept holding her. His heart was racing, the blood was rushing in his ears and he could smell the pain that was coming from her.

"I love you, Levy ... you are my light, my heart. Was it ... it all the time," he whispered and felt her claw into the fabric of his shirt.

"I haven't lied, honestly not. But ... "

"Why... why now?" she brought up whimpering and he laughed up rough as his tears fell on her neck.

"Because it had only really become clear to me", he brought out and she could hear the fear in his words. And she knew it was true. His words, his feelings. Only that he cried let his words become truth. She buried the face on his chest and the smell of metal, cigarettes and dark vanilla rose to her nose. She was still angry, but the angry fire in her belly had burned down to a swelling fire.

"So ... ", she began and her voice failed, " ... what? Do you want to be with me ... be together with me?"

Silence sank on both of them and she heard the fast roar of his heart, felt the warmth of his big body. And yet she trembled. It terrified her and she felt how her treacherous heart beat faster.

"If you still want me," he brought up and these whispered words were like a deafening whip crack. Her heartbeat stopped for a moment, only to return twice as fast. Again tears formed in her eyes and she sniffed. Carefully Gajeel detached himself from her. He had expected that. She rejected him, didn't she? If she cried, then surely only because she did not like that thought. Grief was reflected in his red eyes when he swallowed and tried to get the lump out of his throat. His throat closed, his heart was burning. Then he looked down on her. Her shoulders trembled.

"I'm not good enough for you, I'm sorry ... " he choked out and looked away desperately. Then she sniffed again and he forced himself to take his hands off her slender shoulders. He wanted to step back, leave her, but there he had made the calculation without Levy. She wrapped her arms around his middle and clung to him with a strength he wouldn't have expected.

"Yes", she howled at his chest, her face buried again on the chest. He opened his eyes and stared at her in shock. Blinked. She ... took him back? He swallowed and warmth spread in his heart. His hands trembled even more as he carefully put the right hand on her head. Then she jerkily lifted her head and stared at him from weeping eyes.

"But woe if this is just another stupid game! If you betray me again, I'll skin you," she hissed and he could only nod. Then he wrapped his arms around her and laughed softly, pressed a kiss on her forehead. His heart raced and happiness filled his senses.

"I love you".

"Me too, idiot."


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys,**

 **and here is the next chapter. This time a bit Gruvia. Thanks to all reviewers. It's still unchecked, so I'm sorry for all mistakes.** **I hope you all like this chapter. Let me know what you think about it.**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 6**

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 _"Juvia ...", his voice was rough and she gasped as he stroked with his fingertips over her skin, she bending towards him. A whimper fled her lips and she raised the gaze of her deep blue eyes, looking at him with big eyes, while the usually so cool black eyes shimmered and seemed to melt. His lips turned into a grin and he kissed her, sealed his lips with hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck, grabbed his dark hair and returned the kiss. She felt his rough hands stroking over her thighs, he squeezed between them and the heat burned in her body, let her groan and all too gladly she surrendered to him. He loosened the kiss, she felt his lips brushing across her throat and pulling a trace of heat over her skin._

 _"Juvia ..." he gasped._

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The loud beeping of the alarm clock tore her from her dreams. She reluctantly distorted her lips, buried herself deeper into the warm sheets. But the beeping didn't stop, it just got louder and faster and an annoyed moaning fled her lips. Juvia closed her eyes irritatedly. She felt wheeled, overtired and wanted to fall asleep again, wanted to return to him. But the alarm clock was merciless and so she straightened up, rammed her fist onto the device, which stopped immediately. Sweet silence lay over the room and she sank back into the soft cushions. She had dreamed of him again.

Pain burned in her heart as she thought of it. Her throat tightened and she bit her lower lip. She didn't want to get up and see him. It killed her that he knew, but didn't feel the same. A tremor ran through her body.

"Morning, Juvia," Lucy's voice reached her ears and she raised her eyes, smiling at the blonde who had just come out of the bathroom. She had wrapped herself in a towel and smiled as Juvia stood up, running through her hair.

"Morning, Lucy," Juvia smiled tiredly and now straightened up. There was no point in curling up again, even though she was tired. Her body was still tingling and she felt awake and tired at the same time, scratched up.

"I am ready when you want to take a shower", the blonde smiled at her opposite and she nodded, rose and wavered slightly. Her knees felt like pudding, but after such a dream absolutely no wonder. She smiled and then walked wordlessly into the bathroom. Her gaze glided over the white tiles that covered the floor and walls. The bathroom went to the right. On the right side of the wall was a white porcelain sink, underneath was a small cupboard with toiletries and toilet paper. Opposite the sink was the toilet. Sunlight fell through the large window and Juvia locked the bathroom door. A step went down to the window side so that potential water could not run into the apartment. On the left was a bathtub and on the right was a shower with a glass partition. Between the sink and the shower was another drain and in front of a shower tap stood a small plastic stool and a wooden tub. She closed her eyes for a moment and wrapped her arms around her body.

Her thoughts drifted back to him. She had loved him for so long and it made her sad that he was still so cold. She swallowed easily and redness spread on her cheeks. The dream had seemed so real, so alive. Just when she thought of how he had looked at her in that dream, her heart began to beat faster and her whole body seemed to burn.

"Gray-sama ...," she whispered quietly and felt her throat tightening again. He had taken her out then. He had been there for her since her childhood. She had always thought that he felt more than just friendship for her, but she had been wrong and made one of the biggest mistakes in her life. After joining Phantom Lord. Because she had told him last year full of hope that she loved him and he had rejected her, had told her that he did not love her and saw her more like a sister.

Her heart hurt and hot tears ran down her pale cheeks. A sob fled from her throat and then her legs under her gave way. She did nothing to protect her body and sank into herself, clutching herself. She felt that if she didn't, she would just break into pieces. Her shoulders trembled and she just couldn't breathe, crying unrestrained as she lay on the cold tiles.

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Lucy heard Juvias sobbing and stared at the bathroom door with eyes widened in shock. She swallowed lightly and approached it carefully, raising her hand to knock on the wood. She liked the silent magician and wanted to ask what was going on when she felt a hand on her left shoulder. She turned her eyes and Levy stood beside her with a sad look, gently shaking her head.

"It won't change anything," she whispered quietly and Lucy looked confused from Levy to the door. It tore her heart apart by the bitter sobs that came through the door.

"But ... ", she began and swallowed lightly. Levy went through her hair and smiled slightly.

"Juvia ... didn't have a very easy childhood, Lucy. You remember Gray, don't you? He's been friends with her since childhood and she thought that he would love her the way she loves him. He has always treated her differently than any other girl, never been cold to her, but friendly, courteous and loving. And then last year ...", Levy stopped, her words were quiet and Lucy frowned, it could almost be imagined.

"Did she ... "

"Yes... she confessed her love to him, but it destroyed her friendship. He told her that he sees her as a sister and nothing more. But since then he has been cold towards her. Colder than it is good for her," Levy said and sadness lay in the brown soul mirrors. Lucy swallowed. She felt that there must have been a deep connection between Gray and Juvia. And she could understand it. Could understand that Juvia had seen more in his kindness than he meant.

"But ... can't we help her?" she asked and chewed on her lower lip. Uncertainty stood in the pretty features and worry lay in her brown eyes. Levy shook her head.

"No ... Juvia ... does not like to be helped. Then she only becomes more closed and rejecting. The only thing we can do is take her to a café today and cheer her up with cake and delicious chocolate. That's the only thing she allows," said the little blue-haired magician and her voice was quiet. Lucy sighed deeply and then nodded. She turned away and went over to her bed to get dressed.

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"Gray darling", her voice cooed and he blinked slightly as he felt the warm hands on his chest. Sluggishly he stared at the white ceiling and sighed softly. A sweet scent reached his nose, but he didn't say another word as the blue-haired girl snuggled up to him. He knew it had been a mistake. He knew it, but he needed distraction. But she just wasn't the girl he wanted. He knew that and he accepted it. Because he had hurt her and regretted it, but he thought she deserved someone better.

When he felt her lips on his skin, however, he felt sick. He sighed silently, then straightened up and pushed her away. With a cool, emotionless mask, he got out of the warm bed and wandered naked through the room to disappear into the bathroom. Then he locked up and got into the shower, turned up cold water and stood under the jet.

 _I'm an absolute idiot, but she won't love me anymore, I think. I didn't deserve her_ , he thought, and a grim smile lay on his lips. At that time he had not been aware of his feelings. In the meantime it was different, but it was a fact that he couldn't hold a candle to her.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the cold tiles. Imagined her body. She was beautiful, had a pure, flawless pale skin. Huge blue eyes and long, soft blue hair a color so unusual as the sea. You could lose yourself in those deep eyes. Like two sapphires framed by long, thick eyelashes and enthroned over high, noble cheekbones. Her fine, tender snub nose and full lips, her pointed chin. She was so narrow and dainty, so slender and at the same time so feminine. An absolute beauty. He felt a twitch and felt the excitement in his groin and cursed heartily, striking his forehead against the wall.

He had to knock it out of his head. He was not worthy of her. Juvia had gone through so much crap that he wished for her that she had a happy future. And he had no place in it. He belonged to Fairy Tail and she did not. She kept her promise not to slip anymore, not to join any gang anymore. He didn't want her to cry if something happened to him on a job. Because that was something that could always happen. That one of them didn't come back while picking up an illegal guild or criminal organization.

Gray felt the treacherous burning in his chest. His heart hurt because he forbade himself to get close to Juvia, but could he be so stubborn and selfish and now come crawling to her? Where he had rejected her a year ago? That was not right. Even though it was now clear to him that he felt more for her than just brotherly affection. But the two were not related. But all too well he could remember their childhood together.

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 _She sat alone, covered with blue and purple stains on the edge of the sandpit. Again his gaze slipped to her. She seemed so sad and lost._

 _"Come on, Gray. Play on," Lyon shouted and stared grimly at his brother. He drew his attention back to the white-haired, older boy, grinned and shot the ball at him. But he was curious and so his gaze slid back over to the girl._

 _She was wearing a dirty, light blue T-shirt and equally dirty and torn shorts, her hair hanging greasy and confused in her face. She wasn't wearing shoes and again his dark eyes glided over the stains on her skin, which seemed to be even clearer by the pallor of her skin. And when he saw tears on her cheeks, he felt a sharp sting in his chest. Then the ball slammed against his head and he staggered slightly, turning his attention back to his older brother, who first looked at him silently and then began to laugh at him. Gray growled at Lyon, then his gaze wandered over to the girl again. Determined, he stomped through the sand to her._

 _"Hey, what's your name? I'm Gray," he said and looked at her waiting, smiling. The girl raised her eyes in shock. And he looked into probably the most beautiful, but also saddest blue eyes he had ever seen. Her cheeks were wet with tears and then he saw marks on her neck that stood out brutally from her tender skin. She stared at him with big eyes. Lyon stepped next to him, staring wordlessly at the girl._

 _"J ... Juvia," she whispered in a thin, bell-like voice. She trembled. Gray grinned at her broadly and then stretched out her hand towards her. She flinched slightly and looked insecure and clearly anxious from his to his hand._

 _"Do you want to play football with us?" Gray asked and the grin on his lips widened. Her eyes got bigger and a new torrent of tears streamed out of her eyes and soaked her clothes. Shocked, the brothers stared down at this thin, frightened girl as she smiled trembling, nodded and reached for Gray's hand._

 _"Yes Gray-sama, Juvia likes to play along," she said and smiled. Gray and Lyon looked at each other, then they grinned again, Lyon grabbed Juvia's other hand and they pulled the girl with them._

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He swallowed easily, ran over the wet, cold neck. Everything had been so much easier then. But also worse. At least for Juvia. She had been an orphan and the other children had tortured her. They had beaten her, tried to strangle her. They had forced her to eat dirt. From the day they found out, Gray and Lyon had made it their business to protect her. Gray and Lyon begged their parents Silver and Mika until they gave in and took Juvia in. However, they didn't have enough money to adopt her or to feed her for a long time.

That was something that scared Gray so much, because he liked the girl and didn't want her exposed to all that crap again. But the rescue had been his aunt Ur. She had adopted Juvia, had immediately fallen in love with the shy, polite girl. And with Ultear as her big sister, Juvia had really blossomed.

A sad smile scurried over his lips. Ultear had got into bad company. He rubbed over an ugly scar on his left side below his ribs. Ultear had fallen in love with the wrong one and had simply disappeared from the scene. This had shaken Juvia's world and had destroyed Ul, his aunt.

Like a madwoman, the detective had been searching for her daughter and had forgotten about Juvia, who had done all sorts of stupid things to get her adoptive mother's attention. Her magic had also been revealed. She was an extraordinary water magician. At the age of 14, she had fallen into the hands of dark types. People you'd rather not have anything to do with. He knew that she had sold drugs and weapons and had collected money and beaten up people on orders. When he found out, his family and he had done everything they could to get her out. His magic had also awakened by that time, as had Lyon's. While Juvia was an incredibly powerful water magician, he and his brother came after her father and aunt. They were ice magicians.

He was bitter, hard traction lay on his lips and at the thought of it he swallowed hard. He had beaten Juvia for the first time, but had immediately pulled her into a firm embrace. Only to then take away her oath that she would never do such a thing again. He didn't want her to suffer ever again. She deserved a quiet and fulfilled life. Free from worries with a man at her side who did a much safer job than he did.

A loud knock ripped him from his thoughts and he jerked violently.

"GRAY FINALLY GET READY, STUPID DIVA!"

He had to grin automatically as his brother's angry and impatient voice came through the door and turned off the water. Then he took a towel, wrapped it around his hips and left the bathroom again. A quick glance told him the girl was gone. Which was good. He didn't want to see her anymore because she only reminded him of what he couldn't have.

"Damn it, what have you done? Were you swimming or what?" Lyon asked annoyed and disappeared into the bathroom, threw the door into the lock with a crash and Gray laughed quietly while he went to his bed, put his hand on the magic field to get to his wardrobe. Then he picked out simple clothes, put them on, shouldered his carrier bag and left the room.

As he walked through the wide hall, his thoughts wandered back to Juvia. She looked so much sadder lately. He knew he was ignoring her. But he didn't want her to hope after all. He just couldn't, he wasn't allowed. She was so much better than him. So much stronger. He swallowed hard, then he tightened his shoulders. When a beep sounded, he pulled out his Lacrimapad and stared at the message, sighed softly.

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 _Be in the guild in half an hour, we got info about GH._

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 _E._

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He stared at the message and swallowed slightly, drove his right over his mouth. His heartbeat speeded up, became restless and he felt the tension in his muscles. Cold spread through his body. He felt how cold anger crept up in him. They had found out information about Grimoire Heart? He swallowed hard and determination spread. He would turn those assholes into mincemeat.

His fingers scampered across the display, then he pushed the device back into his pocket and his footsteps continued down the hall, down the stairs and out of the university house.

No. He wasn't good enough for her at all. For Juvia.


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, we're up to the next chapter and to Miraxus. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think ;) This chapter is still unchecked** **.**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 7**

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"Laxus," she mumbled quietly and he grumbled, turned to his side. He wanted to go back to sleep. So why did she wake him up? He felt her fingertips on his back and then her lips pressing between his shoulder blades. His eyes opened. Now he clearly couldn't sleep anymore, so much was certain. So he turned to her and stared down at his girlfriend with a cool look. She had the white waves open and the clear blue eyes looked up to him. He saw the soft blush on her cheeks.

"Honey, I have to get to work slowly," she said and he grumbled. He knew what to expect, but he had absolutely no appetite for a kiss session in the morning.

"And? he asked and pulled up a blond brow. She bit her lower lip and then swallowed lightly, he saw the insecurity in her beautiful features and a short stab twitched through his heart. He didn't want to hurt her, but she knew this wasn't a romantic love affair, it was a physical one. When they landed in the box together months ago after a drinking game with Cana, the devil may fetch the woman, they had actually clarified that. Anyway, Laxus had thought. But Mira was the affectionate, romantic type. She snuggled up a little tighter, nestled her perfect curves against his body and he felt a pull in his abdomen.

"Babe ... if you go on like this, you'll be late for work," he growled, pushing her away and jerking up. He drove his fingers through his hair and ignored the sour smell of her disappointment at the rejection. His senses hummed and he stood up, stretched out and flexed his muscles, loosening his shoulders. Then he turned around and his gaze fell on the narrow body, the full female curves. She had a perfect hourglass figure. She was tall, slim. The waist was narrow, the hips wide, round and feminine. Her breasts were full and seductive. She lolls lightly in the sheets, the tender body barely covered by the light sheets. Slowly Mira straightened up. It wasn't as if he didn't find her attractive. No, not at all, but the fact was that he didn't love her. Or did he? She seemed sad sitting there on the bed. Redness lay on her cheeks and then she looked up at him. With those damn big blue eyes. If he didn't know better, you could think she was innocent with that damn look.

His heartbeat speeded up and as she bit her full lower lip and then stood up on her knees, his throat became dry. Gentle Lacrimal Light fell on the velvety skin. She crawled on all fours over the sheets in his direction and smiled. Laxus cleared his throat and turned away jerkily.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said ruggedly and ran with stiff steps and an exemplary erection into the adjacent bathroom, then he closed the door louder behind him than intended. He hastily locked the door before she followed him into the shower. It wasn't as if he didn't want her, but right now? He would go on a mission with his Thunder Dragon clan today, he couldn't afford it. And hadn't she just said that she had to work? Should he go to university today? He would probably have a few hours left, but he wasn't really up for it. Laxus leaned his back against the wooden door, closed his eyes, sighed silently, then he pushed himself away and got into the shower.

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She stared with big eyes at the door behind which he had just disappeared. Her throat tightened and she felt the treacherous burning in her eyes, blinking hectically. Trembling, she took a breath and pressed her lips together.

Did he not want her anymore? She had seen his reaction. He obviously found her attractive enough for him to get a stand, but still he just walked away. It hurt and she let herself sink back, closed her eyes and bit around on her lower lip. Her heart pounded painfully and she swallowed. Trembling she took a breath, then she rose, climbed out of bed and slipped into a long dress. The fabric was plain and red. It was really modest. She combed her hip-length hair, tied her pony back and looked again at the bathroom door. Longing lay in the blue soul mirror, but she smiled sadly. Then she turned away and left the small chamber on the top floor of the guild house.

Her heart beat restlessly in her chest as she walked across the hall. Lacrima lit up the windowless corridor. She turned left at the end of the corridor and went down the stairs, conjuring a smile on her full lips, even if it didn't reach her eyes. Sadness seemed to crush her heart and she felt the urge to cry, scream and rage, but that didn't suit her. Not anymore. Those times were long gone and when she thought about it, she did not miss it. She did not miss the cold, the brutality and the pain of a fight, even though it was her nature.

A nature that had already been cracked with the murder of her parents, with the hunt for her family. But her death had finally put an end to it. Pain burned in her heart over all the losses. She swallowed lightly, closed her eyes and breathed tremblingly. She knew she had to be strong because she was Mirajane Strauss. The unshakeable, cheerful Mira. No matter how Laxus dealt with her, she would keep smiling.

She swallowed, tightened her shoulders and then went into the guild's tavern. There hadn't been one yet and that made it easier for her to follow her usual routine. Humming she began to fall into her daily routine. Polished glasses, went into the kitchen and cooked and baked. She knew the members were hungry when they came here, so she made preparations.

As the soft ringing of the doorbell struck her ears, she twitched, straightened up, controlled the heat of the oven, washed her hands, and walked forward back behind the bar. Erza and Gérard came up to her, sat down at the bar.

"Tomorrow, you two," she beamed at them and they returned the greeting.

"And? what's new?" she asked Erza and grabbed a glass to polish it. Recently, people had disappeared and Erza's unit supported the local police in their search. As well as a unit of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale. Erza sighed and rubbed her neck. She seemed tense.

"We found corpses," she replied and her look was serious. Anger and frustration lay in the brown eyes and Mira paused in her movement.

"Corpses?" she asked carefully and even she heard the insecurity in her voice. She swallowed. Her stomach contracted. The red-haired beauty nodded sadly.

"Yes... everything looks like experiments of the really deviant kind. Laboratories and stuff. Someone abused these people as guinea pigs," she said and Mira's eyes widened in shock. Cold was stirring in her and the horror stretched out its claws to her heart. Her heartbeat speeded up and she didn't know why, but she felt the disaster coming. Icy shivers crept up her back and her neck hair stood up.

"We still have to let the Master know. Where is he now?", Gérard, Erza's friend and deputy, looked at Mira waiting.

"He should be in his office. You're quite early," she said and bit her lower lip. Her hands began to tremble and she didn't know why. She couldn't name that feeling deep in her stomach, couldn't say what she was feeling. The couple rose, Erza smiled slightly and calmingly.

"Cheer up, Mira. We'll get those assholes"' she said and Mira forced herself to smile, then nodded and hurried into the kitchen. She had to concentrate on other things now. Not on what that might mean. As she looked into the oven, she turned down the heat a bit. A squeak penetrated her ears and it was as if she could hear the panic screams of dying people. She flinched and whirled around. Laxus stood in the door, looked at her, approached her and then pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"Probably getting late today, don't wait for me," he grumbled and then turned away and left her alone in the kitchen. She stood here and frowned, swallowed lightly. She had to stay calm. It didn't help anyone if she fell into old patterns, if she went crazy, because there seemed to be corpse abusers and crazy researchers in Magnolia. After all, no one hunted her kind anymore. Mira breathed deeply, forced herself to inner peace and loosened her shoulders a little.

 _What can happen? They are only a few lunatics. Erza and her troop will put them up and put them away_ , she thought and smiled.

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Laxus knocked on his grandfather's office door and was asked to enter. He followed and saw a serious Erza and an even more serious Gérard. A brow moved towards the hairline, but he said nothing about it.

"So... what is it," he asked, closing the door behind him and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Makarov sighed and looked at the three with a serious look. Then he fixed Laxus.

"Laxus, I want you to go on holiday with Mira. Go somewhere safe, where no one will recognize you," the old magician looked at his grandson, fixed him and he frowned. Was he serious? He was confused, didn't understand why he should. He had jobs to do, then there was the university and Mira wouldn't just travel with him. But something in his grandfather's eyes worried him.

"Then explain to me why I should, Grandpa," he replied and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He wouldn't let himself be ordered around, that much was once certain. Erza sighed annoyed, then she stepped up to the desk and laid a lacrimatablet on the table, activated the hologram display and waved Laxus closer. He folded his forehead, but followed the invitation and stepped closer to the desk. Erza pointed to pictures and texts. They were reports and when he saw the bodies and the labs on the pictures crept cold shivers down his back. It shocked him somewhere, but he wasn't a little girl, so he remained absolutely calm on the outside.

"And what is that now?

"You remember the case where we worked with the local authorities and the other units of the magician guilds? Laxus ... they experimented with demons," Erza said quietly and looked at him seriously. He frowned and started wiping the data himself and looking through it. The bright, gray soul mirrors flew over the data and the line of thought between his blond brows became deeper and deeper.

"Then they are demons. That's forbidden but ... what does it have to do with Mira?" he asked and then looked at his grandfather. Silence spread in the room and that confused him even more than it did anyway. His grandfather looked sadly at the floor and rose groaning from the swivel chair, wandering over to the high windows. A bad feeling spread in his stomach and he didn't know why.

"Mira ... is ... that's hard to explain, Laxus. Please, she is in danger. She must not fall into the hands of these crazy scientists", his voice was quiet and tired and that frightened Laxus, even if he would never admit it. He swallowed slightly and looked first at Gérard and then at Erza, who looked down on the ground and her partner and friend did not look him in the eye either.

"What are you not telling me?" he asked and his voice rumbled like the thunder that was raging in his veins. Uncertain rage was surging in him. He could not stand it at all if something was concealed from him!

"It is not up to us to tell you. That's her business alone," said his grandfather and he growled angrily.

"But you know I'm just having a physical relationship with her, right? We're not a classic couple, Grandpa. She has her work here and I have mine! Do you really think I can just go on holiday? Without giving her a proper reason", he asked and with every word he got louder. Golden lightning flashed around him. Which only made it clear that he was angry. His grandfather and guild master turned around and the gaze of those eyes literally froze Laxus. He seemed ... frightened.

"This is about the protection of her life. Mira is a part of this family. Do you want to risk her death?" he asked and the finality in his voice made Laxus inevitably take a step back. His heart beat faster against his ribs and he felt a touch of nervousness. He liked Mira, yes. Otherwise he would not sleep with her. He didn't love her either and sometimes she just annoyed him with her character, but ... he didn't want her to be gone. Did not want her to die. Pain twitched through his cold heart and then he nodded.

"Okay ... I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise she'll go for it," he replied and pulled his lips. It worried him. His grandfather never looked so scared.

"Well ... then we would be done with it. For the time being you will be taken away from all things. You get enough money for the trip. The best place for your holiday is on Alvarez", his grandfather was already looking for documents and Laxus eyes widened. Alvarez? Was he serious? He should change the continent and go on holiday in a foreign kingdom?

"Alvarez?"

"Yes, that's far enough away," Makarov replied and Laxus swallowed lightly. The shit really had to be cooking when they sent him with Mira to Alvarez. After all, Alvarez was on another continent and the trip there took a good two weeks if he wasn't wrong.

"I'll book you a flight for tonight. The faster you are over there, the better," his grandfather replied and Laxus couldn't think of anything more.

The old man sat down at the desk again, groaning quietly, and drove up an old Lacrimapc. The thing was old, but it still worked. Laxus watched his grandfather book a flight and he swallowed lightly. Then he felt the slight vibration of his Lacrimapad and pulled the device out. He had received an email. With two tickets and more dates. Next, a message from his account ploped up that he had received a wire transfer of over 10 million jewels. His eyes widened. 10 million? How long should they please travel? 3 years? He looked up at his grandfather.

"Did you put a few zeros too much on it?"

"No."

"How long should we please stay there? Three years or what?", bewilderment resonated in his voice.

"As long as it goes."

"Wow ... wait you want to get rid of us?"

"No, that's for their protection. By the way, you also travel with Elfman and his wife."

"Evergreen?"

"Yes, who else?"

"All right ...", growled Laxus. Then he would probably endure her annoying brother, even if it went against his grain. It just annoyed him.

"Oh and you travel as a family, Laxus."

"What now?" the blonde dragon magician looked up and pulled his brows together. This statement confused him immensely. Makarov grinned broadly.

"It's already agreed with the authorities. You're going away as a married couple," he said, and a big grin lay in his old trains. Laxus lost his features and stared at his grandfather with his eyes wide open. Was he serious? First the vacation and now he should make a loving, faithful husband, or what? Where had he landed here? At a matchmaking agency?

"Please what," he asked, hoping that he had misheard. He was too young to get married! Apart from the fact that he had never intended to marry at all. His heartbeat speeded up and he swallowed hastily.

"You already understood me, boy. Before you pack, sign here, will you?"

His grandfather called up a document about Erza's Lacrimatablet and Laxus' heartbeat stopped for a moment, only to reinstate twice as fast. That was a bad joke, wasn't it?

"I'm 21 years old. I'm too young to get married," he said and his throat felt dry. And yet he approached the document and the grey soul mirrors glided over the lines. He would marry Mira? But he didn't love her. Could he do that to her? He knew that Mira was head over heels in love with him and when she spoke of a relationship on a physical level, he hadn't been thrilled. Not because he didn't find her attractive. It was simply because he knew that she was letting herself in for it in absolute hope. It wasn't good, she deserved better than that.

"It serves to dissuade potential murderers or hunters from her trail," his grandfather replied. Laxus stared at the line in which he was to put his signature and sighed going through his hair. He didn't have a good feeling about it.

"Does she know?"

"We'll tell her as soon as you put your signature under the document," his counterpart replied, and Laxu's gaze flew to his grandfather. Did he want to fuck with him? His hands clenched to fists and his body cramped. He had a choice. Mira hurt with this farce, or run the risk that for whatever reason, she was abused as a test object and died. His body acted instinctively and he signed without looking properly. Then he stepped back and his gaze was cold as ice.

"Hope, that this doesn't break her, old man" he growled, turning away jerkily, tearing open the door, stepping out into the hall and slamming shut the wooden door. Anger raged through his veins. He didn't know why Mira was a possible target, but she was part of his family and he would do anything to keep her safe. And when it was said that he hurt her by playing a couple, then it was like it was.

He followed the hallway and headed towards the chamber he shared with Mira because she had asked for it. He passed the bar and paused for a moment. She was busy cleaning glasses, humming and looking as cheerful as ever. His jaw was grinding while his body was under tension. Something was wrong here and he would find out what it was.

"Mira?" the voice of Erza echoed through the guild's tavern. She flinched slightly, had obviously been torn from her thoughts and hadn't expected it. She looked up and Laxus looked at her. She was so incredibly beautiful. Had a pale, flawless skin, a fine, heart-shaped face. Above the high cheekbones lay clear blue eyes, framed by dense, fine eyelashes. She was so tender and at the same time so sexy that he had lost his tongue more than once.

"The Master has something important to discuss with you," Erza said and for a moment he saw fear flash in her features. But Mira immediately had herself under control again, smiled and put everything down, then she scurried up the stairs and followed the invitation. Laxus sighed and rubbed his chest, feeling a strange feeling, which he could not attribute. Then he turned away. He had to pack.

 _Yeah ... vacation in fucking Alvarez_ , he thought sarcastically and snorted annoyed.


	9. Chapter 8

**Aaand next chapter. Again with focus on NaLu. And … I put a hint on a film inside. Do you know which film? Let me know what you think. And again a big thank you to my BETA** _ **doginshoe**_ **.**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 8**

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She sat next to him and tried to concentrate on her notes and learn with him at the same time. They finally had a deal. But what happened? He didn't really seem to like this, had his forearms on the table and his chin on it as he watched Lucy. Loki sat next to her and worked silently on his tasks. He would attend all courses with her. Which didn't surprise Lucy.

Lucy, meanwhile, chewed lightly on her pencil as she swallowed chapter after chapter. Which kinds of magic there were for the fight and which ones were the best for you. The weak points and the strengths. Which magic should she choose? She was a skylight magician by nature. She could do simple healing and cleansing magic and she could fire magic projectiles. However, her magic was not necessarily suitable for this, as she only mastered the basics and wanted to be able to use more powerful magic.

"Are you slowly finished," Natsu asked bored and yawned noisily. Lucy fixed him with a stern look, pulled her brows together. Why was he at this university at all when he obviously didn't have any fun? Not to mention that he didn't want to learn? She pressed her lips together and sighed.

"Natsu ... you should learn. You have already fallen through the course once, do you want to repeat it again? While you're in your third year and everyone else is a freshman," she asked and he snorted amused. Then he yawned, straightened up and stretched out with pleasure. Lucy could feel a muscle starting to twitch under her left eye. A clear sign that he didn't leave her cold, but even annoyed her. He was clearly not good for her salvation, but that wouldn't really interest him. And Loki? He would kill Natsu with joy, he had already made that clear before.

"I know my magic and my potential. It's all about the theory," Natsu said and shrugged his shoulders. He seemed bored. The blonde sighed annoyed. And then an idea came to her. Her lips turned to a smile while she looked at Natsu. He pulled up a brow and a sceptical, suspicious look clearly stepped into his features. Lucy leaned forward, still smiling.

"Then you can give me a hint which magic would be best for me as combat magic," she said and pointed her pencil at him. Silence descended over the small group of students and Loki looked up from his notes. His watchful gaze glided from his protégé over to Natsu, who looked at Lucy with his eyebrows raised.

"Uh... okay, if you think so," he noted and shrugged his shoulders, "but don't complain that it's getting too hard for you. Fire magic is the only real thing."

"My basic skills are based on skylight magic," Lucy said tonelessly and her face was devoid of emotion. Fire magic? Was he serious? She could only expand what already existed. She had no disposition whatsoever to learn fire magic. Her opposite twisted his eyes, crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"The lack of knowledge is frightening, Natsu Dragneel. As the son of General Igneel, I would have expected more," Loki suddenly said and then devoted himself again to his notes. Then he looked at Lucy again, smiled.

"Celestial Spirit Magic would be a way, my lady," he said and his voice was cool, controlled. Lucy blinked in bewilderment. Normally Loki didn't just interfere. That wasn't really his way. That he did it now testified to how little he liked Natsu. Her gaze wandered carefully to Natsu and that same fixed Loki with a murderous gaze. She bit her lower lip and smiled. The advice regarding Celestial Spirit Magic was a good one. As far as she knew, her mother had been a Celestial Spirit Mage herself. She touched her mother's key, which she carried as a pendant on a chain, and smiled.

"Yes, that sounds good," she said and she felt magic in Aquarius' key, stroking the gold of the key. It seemed to vibrate and warm up. Her heartbeat speeded up and she immediately knew this was the way to go. Natsu put his head on his neck.

"Natsu ... but honestly ... you really should write an essay."

"The professor doesn't want one."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," came the grumpy answer. He had grabbed a book and laid it on his face to have shadow and she frowned. How could she get him to learn in the easiest way? And then ... it fell off her eyes like scales. He loved challenges! A grin crept on her lips.

"Did you know that our fellow students laugh at you? They see you as a failure," she said in an innocent voice. He had just moved, but now he seemed frozen in his chair. His hand drove to the book and pulled it from his face as he looked at Lucy.

"Do they, yes?" he asked and a deep rumble accompanied his words. She nodded and smiled warmly at him. Then she pushed herself a little closer to him with her chair, pushed a block of paper and a pen towards him.

"But you could disprove that by writing an essay about the five chapters and about what magic you use and why. Just to be on the safe side, in case the professor asks you to. After that you feel better and then the first foundation stone has been laid for this semester," she said, and she saw him grinding his teeth and grinding his jaw. He reached for the stupid pencil, drew the book to him without saying a word.

"Which chapters?" he asked grimly and was clearly not enthusiastic.

"One to five," she replied, using her book for magic medicine, began to work on the tasks for this course. Natsu sighed devoutly and set to work reading five chapters. She suppressed a giggle and when Loki wanted to say something, she rammed her foot against his shin. He grimaced but said nothing more.

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"ALL LINE UP!" Natsu yelled through the gym. His team seemed bored, but that didn't interest him, he wanted Lucy to get a good first impression of the team. Because if he was honest, their team needed someone as good as Lucy. They were one of the weakest teams in the university league. And he simply didn't want to let that sit on him. And although they grumbled, they came closer, interrupted their rather half-hearted exercises. Lucy stood next to him, scrutinized the other players and he noticed that she was checking them out. He suppressed a broad grin.

"I introduce our new member to you today. Lucy Heartfilia, former Virgo Star player," he said. The answer to his words was absolute silence. And disbelieving or stunned looks. He grinned with a broadening look into the round, crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"And she becomes co-captain," he said. And so he pulled all those present out of their stiffness. Protesting shouts resounded. None of the boys liked that. Of course, she had more than him and probably it would make sense to put her directly as captain, but he would not submit to their decisions. However, the fact was that she was simply better than the whole team and he thought she would kill all 60 players here if she was serious. He believed she could do that. He felt her somewhat disbelieving gaze on him and he looked at her.

"What?

"You make me CC?," she asked and pulled both eyebrows together. She wore the clothes she had worn against him during the game, had her long hair pinned up into a bun. He shrugged his shoulders.

"We're not a very strong team, so I thought you might be able to get the boys on the right track," he said and grinned, shrugging his shoulders. She blinked, then she looked at her new crew, crossed her arms under her chest and a diabolical grin spread out on her lips. He saw the mood change.

"All right," Lucy started and stepped forward, "I can see you don't like it, but I can see your weakness. You've certainly never won, right? No wonder you're complaining just because a woman is above you now. If you don't agree, you'll run a twenty-kilometer endurance race against me," she said. She actively provoked the young men in front of her only so that she could lure them out of their reserve. She would set an example.

"Tss, don't be so stupid! As if you could only hold on for two kilometres," Jet said and snorted disparagingly. Lucy looked at him and her eyes narrowed.

"All right ... let's raise it to thirty. Or no ... even better. From me we walk until either I give up, or until nobody of the whole team can stand," she said and her voice was cold, challenging. Natsu's eyes were widened and his gaze slid back and forth between Lucy and his team. That escalated quickly. The students laughed at their challenge.

"You think I'm weaker just because I'm a woman? Then prove to me that you're stronger."

"Under one condition," one of the others exclaimed.

" Which is?"

"There's a date in it with you," he said, laughing dirty. Lucy's eyes became narrow.

"As if you had the slightest chance against me," she said hissing. Natsu clapped her hands loudly.

"Come on, line up," he yelled out and the team stood up on the runway leading around the field. They used the simple stage of the university for training. Real games were played in the Fairy Tail hall. Natsu pulled out a whistle and whistled. All the players started to move, as did Lucy, who jogged at a steady, calm pace. He had to grin when he saw some of his teammates jump off. Which was absolutely unnecessary. Because it wasn't about getting there faster, it was about holding on longer. There were probably a few who didn't understand the task properly.

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"Jo Natsu."

He raised his eyes and saw Laxus' face, which fell on the bench next to him and then frowned at the field. Meanwhile it was about an hour and of the whole team there were about 10 people on the field competing with Lucy. She was already sweating, her cheeks reddened and beads of sweat stood on her forehead. However, she didn't seem out of breath at first, continued to jog her laps at a steady pace.

"What the fuck is going on here?" asked the blonde magician next to him and seemed quite confused. Natsu laughed quietly.

"I made Lucy CC and the team wasn't enthusiastic, so they challenged her. The whole team is running on endurance against her," he explained and laughed quietly. Lucy was already impressive. She didn't seem frightened at all. Which confused him, because normally she looked like a classic, shy wallflower. Only not here in the field. When she played Magictag, her whole attitude seemed to change.

"Wow ... how long have they been running?"

"About an hour," Natsu said and a soft laugh rolled up his throat. The whole thing here amused him. Of course he didn't forget his goal. Make sure she fell in love with him, lay her down and drop her. Laxus laughed quietly, grinned broadly. He was also in the team, but unlike most of the team, he was in good shape.

"Natsu, there's something I have to tell you," Laxus grumbled suddenly, while Natsu's gaze lay firmly on Lucy. Her breasts bounced up and down as she walked. And second her ass. Firm and perfect to hold on to during sex. She had an absolutely perfect body. Slim and yet incredibly feminine. He felt a slight pull between his legs.

"Mhm?

"Grandpa sends Mira and me as a couple together with her brother Elfman and Ever to Alvarez on PH," he said and Natsu blinked irritated. Freed just gave up, stopped panting and waved off. Natsu was astonished that he even faced the whole thing. He looked at Laxus, frowned.

"Please what?"

"PH."

"Why that? Did you eat something out?" Natsu asked laughing and looked at his unit member waiting. PH, was the abbreviation for protection holiday. Something they did when the shit was really cooking. Laxus drove over his face and Natsu's eyes widened as the sunlight broke on the golden ring. What the hell?

"Is that a wedding ring on your finger?" asked the salmon haired one, bewildered, and Laxus twitched together, growled reluctantly, and then nodded.

"Erzas unit found out that there were demons among the corpses and the old man believes that Mira is in danger. So ... I had to marry her to go on holiday with her as a couple," he growled. Natsu snorted and his lips turned to a gloating grin.

"My condolences", he said then and laughed up quietly. Laxus didn't seem to be amused at all and the salmon haired man turned his gaze back to the playing field. Meanwhile only three of his boys were still running against Lucy. They looked exhausted, only Lucy seemed to be able to walk on forever. Jets legs under him gave way and Natsu pulled both brows up. He was with the fastest runner of the whole university. Various medals testified to his skill. The last two on the field were actually Gajeel and Gray. With the latter it surprised Natsu that he was running at all. Laxus whistled approvingly, he also looked at the field again.

"So ... will a woman train us?"

"She is good and you know that too", Natsu replied, shrugging his shoulders. The blonde next to him just laughed. He didn't mind Lucy training them, he had absolute respect for her skills and maybe they would win. He just wanted to make sure that Natsu was serious about it. That he knew what he was getting himself into. Because something told Laxus that he might still regret it.

"But yes... she will take over our training. I have the feeling that we will only get better through her training," Natsu said and then grinned slightly, shrugged his shoulders. Laxus nodded. That's what he believed. There had to be a reason why Virgo Star was so strong. Gajeel and Gray walked another 10 minutes next to Lucy. The two men sweated and gasped like young dogs. Natsu could hear clearly with his sensitive hearing how some of the weaker ones in the team mumbled something about monster, because Lucy really looked as if she could jog for another two or three hours. Somehow Natsu didn't believe that the twenty kilometre endurance run was a joke. On the contrary. Her endurance was just abnormal. Gray faltered and staggered, but caught himself in time and shook his head while Lucy jogged beside him. The two seemed to be talking. Gray shook his head again.

"Final spurt," Lucy exclaimed and Natsu and Laxus watched. Lucy sprinted off and set a perverse pace. Gray followed only scarcely 10 meters, then he stopped panting and let himself fall on the lawn. Gajeel pulled along, but he simply couldn't overtake her. The substitutes watched with big eyes. The blonde student was absolutely scary to them. But her stamina and skill clearly showed hard, even murderous training. When Lucy completed the lap, she looked around and saw Gajeel shuffle behind her. He was done, but had lasted the longest. Meanwhile Lucy jogged on the spot.

"The woman is a monster ... have fun if you ever get her in the box ... I think after that you need an emergency doctor", Laxus laughed quietly and patted Natsu on the shoulder, rose.

"Well then, I have to check on my ... wife," he said and that showed that he was not enthusiastic about being married to Mira. But Natsu knew him. Laxus wanted to protect Mira's life and if he had to marry her for it, he would do so. He also rose and held out his hand to Laxus, who hit it.

"When are you flying?

"Tonight, grandpa has been fast. He booked the flight this morning. I don't know when we'll be back, though."

"It's all right. We'll clean up here for you. You take good care of her," Natsu replied and grinned. Laxus left the arena and Natsu went over to the field. Gajeel surrendered and also let himself fall into the grass.

"And? did anyone else object to Lucy becoming CC and taking over the training?" Natsu asked and crossed his arms in front of his chest, letting his dark soul mirrors slide over his team. A general head shake and a negative murmur were enough for him. Then he looked at Lucy smiling.

"They are yours," he said, "I want you to make them the strongest team in the league."

She laughed and stopped jogging, started stretching her legs and arms.

"If it's nothing more ... " she replied snorting, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead and then turned to the team. She put her hands on her hips and the others looked at her waiting. Some lurking, expectant, but a large part seemed rather frightened.

"So, since you've warmed up ... ", she began and panic whispering began, "let's start with the melee training. You will train today as usual and I'll take a look so I can judge how good you are."

Her words were strict and clearly did not tolerate any contradiction. She turned to Natsu, looked at him.

"Oh and Captain ... 30 laps running," she said.

"Please what?"

"You heard right. You didn't warm up. So come on, move your ass," she replied and Natsu growled at her, but she didn't let herself be intimidated. She continued to look at him waiting, even expectantly. As if she expected him to do what she ordered. He hadn't imagined it that way. But he felt the looks of his team on him and there was no more pinching. So he growled at them again, surrendered to his fate and started running thirty fucking rounds.


	10. Chapter 9

**So, and here we are with a new chapter. Up into Gajevy :3 Let me know, what you think. Actually it's unchecked, so pls bear with my bad english .**

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 **Greets Z**

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 **Chapter 9**

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"Neee... Gajeel," she started, but he didn't say a word. Levy pulled the brows together, pouting because he was still silent. All she wanted to know was where they were going. Was that so bad? Apart from the fact that he woke her up this morning and then just put her in clothes and then took her with him, she missed lectures because of him. She sighed slightly. The blue-haired girl had simply been too tired to defend herself or to protest and in the end he had simply shouldered her, taken her bag and carried her to the station. But what could you expect when she had learned, as always, until the early hours of the morning? Levy lowered her eyes to her hands. Her fingers clawed into the leather of her carrier bag. She always had the most important things with her. Lacrimapad, ticket, identity card and documents to write down important things.

"Gajeel? Come on, talk to me. Neee, Gaaajeeeel," she said and her eyes were fixed on the tall, black-haired student sitting opposite her, silently looking out of the side window. He hadn't said a word yet, had almost crossed his arms in front of his chest. Levy sighed quietly and scrutinized her boyfriend a little more closely. They had been together for a few days. And still she hadn't got used to the thought.

His long hair was tied together in a simple braid. He wore a black shirt, black tight jeans and black jumper boots. Sunlight fell on the metal of his piercings and let the red of his soul mirror shine like rubies. She swallowed lightly and redness spread on her cheeks. His clothes could not hide the muscles and strength of his large body. Levy bit her lower lip and swallowed lightly, feeling her heartbeat speed up. Her senses hummed and she took a deep breath. Then she rose, bridged the small distance between her two seats and pushed the left knee between his legs onto the seat, supporting herself with her hands on the cushion behind him. That seemed to wake him up, for his head twitched towards her and he stared at her a little confused. Levy smiled.

"So? Do I slowly get an answer as to where we're going?" she asked and again silence lay over the compartment as the landscape seemed to race past them. A crooked grin spread across his lips and then his arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her onto his lap. Levy squeaked quietly. She hadn't expected it. Gajeel pulled her towards him, buried his left hand in her hair, wrapped her back of the head and before she could say anything, she felt his rough lips on hers. A moaning fled that same one and heat raced through her body. That was definitely not fair! She felt his hands pulling her closer, pulling them towards his steely body. His tongue prodded against her lower lip, slid over it and he asked for admission, which she gladly granted him. She used to find tongue kisses just disgusting. Sharing saliva with another was something she absolutely could not understand. But with Gajeel it was just heavenly. Her tongues entwined each other, fought for dominion.

" Oh, I beg your pardon!"

They were scared to death and Levy stared with wide open eyes at an elderly lady who was closing the eyes of a little boy. There was disapproval in her features and Levy felt burning blush spread to her cheeks. She rose hastily from his lap, or at least tried, because Gajeel's big, warm hands were firmly on her hips. A challenging grin lay on his lips as he looked at the woman.

"Yes, how can we help you?" His voice was rough and deep and sent thousands of small electric shocks over her skin. Levy swallowed lightly and the woman turned lightly red, scolding and dragging the boy with her in search of another compartment. Levy stroked her hair back and then blew up her cheeks, eyes fixed on her boyfriend.

"That was really not necessary, Gajeel!"

He grinned and by the shrug of his shoulders she recognised that he was about to break out into a loud laughter. She pulled her brows together and he could no longer hold on and his voice roared loudly while he laughed from the bottom of his heart. Her corners of her mouth twitched slightly and she also began to giggle, burying her face on his neck as he pulled her closer again.

Minutes passed as they sat there laughing. Minutes they both needed to calm down again. Levy slowly straightened up again and Gajeel grinned at her. The deep red of his soul mirror shimmered amusedly.

"You will see where you are going, dwarf. Just let yourself be surprised," he said, burying his fingers in her hair and pulling them towards him, conquering her lips. She closed her eyes with a smile and enjoyed the kiss. It tasted like metal and cigarettes. Her heart raced as she snuggled up to him and enjoyed his presence.

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Levy let her gaze wander and frowned. They were in Crocus. The station was full of people arriving or departing. The student looked around with big eyes, absorbing everything like a sponge. Stone stairs led from the tracks up to the entrance and exit. Artfully designed railings made of jade marked them off and provided a better hold. Jade columns supported the high ceiling, connecting it in an arch. Lacrim screens were attached to the columns themselves and indicated the arriving and departing trains. Her heartbeat speeded up as she got closer to one of the columns. Fine patterns were carved into the stone. Historical pictures of Crocus' history. Her heartbeat quickened as she stretched out a hand and stroked over the stone following the patterns. An arm lay down on her head.

"Will you come then, or will you examine the column?"

Levy looked up and stared straight into Gajeel's amused gaze, feeling the blush on her cheeks. So he had taken her to Crocus. She took a look at one of the magic clocks and pulled the eyebrows together slightly. It was just nine o'clock in the morning.

"Now do you tell me why you dragged me here?" she asked and frowned, looked at him waiting, but he just grinned, took her hand and then dragged her with him.

"Nope," he said, and Levy felt frustration rise up into her. Could you believe that? She just wanted to know where he wanted to go with her! She sighed frustratedly. And since she knew that he would throw her over his shoulder if she didn't go along on her own, she followed him without comment. The warmth of his hand led her through the crowds and she knew he would take care of her and not leave her unobserved for a moment. Her heart raced and anticipation spread within her. She was curious to know why he had taken her to Crocus.

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With her eyes wide open, she stood in front of the huge building, which had already been constructed a good hundred years ago in high gothic style. Her heart beat fast and almost painfully against her ribs. She could only stand here and stare. She was simply not able to do more. Her eyes glided again and again over the white stone, over the fine structures in the stone walls, gliding over the rose window, which had been majestically and with absolute perfection worked into the front of the Imperial Library of Fiore. Sunlight made the coloured glass shimmer, although the splendid colours would only emerge inside the building. Birds flew shrieking around the narrow and elaborate towers that adorned the roof. Some buildings of her university had also been built in this style, but the imperial library simply topped everything. Levy was so captivated by the sight that she didn't even dare to blink. She had been dreaming about coming here for so long, but had never actually mentioned it to him. And now she stood here. He had brought her here. Warm hands lay themselves on her shoulders and she jerked together.

"Do you only want to stare at her, or do you also go in?" warm breath stroked over her skin and goose bumps spread on her neck and arms. She blinked hectically and turned to Gajeel. He looked down at her, raising a brow, looking at her waiting.

"But ... from where ... why ..." she brought out and her thoughts speaded up. How did he know that she had wanted to see that library? Was he able to read her mind lately? Gajeel's cheeks turned red, he rubbed his neck and looked to the side. Levy's eyes grew bigger. Was he embarrassed?

"You ... mentioned it back then."

"No I never have", she said again. The redness on his cheeks became deeper.

"Yes. When you were drunk. At the party then," he replied and cleared his throat slightly. Her eyes became even bigger. But that was a good year ago! And they had all been drunk. And as far as she could remember, he had even been stoned. He had remembered something like that? Her eyes were now as big as saucers, while she stared at him in complete amazement. Gajeel now looked at her again and had to laugh quietly. Then he cleared his throat again and pointed to the library in her back.

"Do you now finally want to go in, or do you want to take root here," he asked again and she had to grin. As soon as he became gruff, he was a little uncomfortable. She already knew that from him. She approached him, stood on her toes. Her hands clawed into the fabric of his shirt and stretched out towards him. Gajeel automatically bent down to her and they kissed. Levy closed his eyes enjoyingly and deepened the kiss, released herself from him again and smiled at him.

"You know ... that is a really great surprise, Gajeel," she grinned at him and he laughed quietly.

"That wasn't all, Shrimp," he growled, stroked her right cheek and kissed her gently and lovingly. A prickle feeling crawled through her body. Then he released much too early, took her hand and they walked towards the building together. He held one of the two hinged doors open for her. The old hinges creaked deeply and as she stepped into the shadows the smell of old paper and glue reached her nose. She sighed and went deeper into the library, looking around with big eyes.

The ceiling of the nave was a good fifty metres high. White struts connected the columns in a beautiful cross pattern. Sunlight fell through the tall, slender windows and bathed everything in a warm, soft light. Magic lights hung everywhere, illuminating everything with additional light. The entire library extended a good one hundred and fifty metres into the depths.

A deep silence reigned here, interrupted only by the quiet whispers of the other visitors, the rustling of paper and the occasional click of a pen. The side aisles of the library were barely twenty-five metres high and had been divided into six floors connected by slender spiral staircases. High, slender shelves lined up to the ceiling of each floor, filled with books and knowledge. Her heart raced as she looked around and excitement filled her senses. As in the side aisles, there were numerous high bookshelves in the central aisle, but this area was clearly dominated by long, fine wooden tables, matching chairs and Lacrima computers. Levy swallowed hard and her body trembled. Excitement glided through her senses and she walked into the library as if enchanted. A soft red carpet covered the floor and dampened her footsteps. She felt Gajeel's closeness as he wrapped an arm around her, bringing his lips to her ear.

"Around 3 pm I pick you up again, Shrimp", then he pressed a kiss on her temple, detached himself from her and released her into a world of books. She didn't pay any attention to him anymore, she was to fascinated by the sight of the countless books.

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Gajeel left the library grinning, took a deep breath of air and enjoyed the peace for a moment. Then he pulled out his Lacrimapad and checked his mails and other messages that had come in. So Laxus was on SU? Well, then they would do his work too. They would be able to do that. He grinned, shrugged his shoulders and then set off to prepare everything for the rest of the day with Levy. Because today would be a date. He wanted to make every effort, wanted to be romantic. Just for her, mind you. Even if it was absolutely atypical for him.

He pushed his Lacrimapad back into his back pocket and made his way with his hands in his trouser pockets to the restaurant he had chosen. According to the Lacrimanet, it had the best reviews. Crocus was a strange city, as Gajeel found. History and modernity merged, so that both ancient and modern buildings were found. There seemed to be no real structure and the city was always on the move, living and developing rapidly. He ignored the many people who rushed to work, went to school, or just hung around. No one dared to come near him in a silly manner, let alone look at him obliquely. But that was all right with him. That way he had his peace.

He looked around, turned into a side street and stepped out into a wider street at the other end. Cobblestones, as well as numerous small shops, old cafés gave the whole street an older, but cosy flair. Music came from a few shops, birds flew around, danced around each other. The smell of hot, fresh coffee and fresh rolls, baguettes and croissants was in the air. There were only a few guests at this time of day and most shopkeepers were busy preparing everything for coming guests. Gajeel looked around. Here it seemed so damn quiet and peaceful that he relaxed himself. Which was rarely really the case.

However, he had to look where this stupid restaurant was and had actually been of the opinion that it should be here somewhere. He looked around searching and saw an older gentleman putting up a sign. He stepped closer.

"Hello, could ya answer me a question?" he looked down waiting, the old man looked up and slightly flinched back. What Gajeel could quite understand, because he knew he was dark and also looked very grim most of the time. The older man swallowed slightly, was a little pale around his nose, but nodded.

" Y-yes ... n-n-naturally, m-m-my m-mister," he stuttered out. Gajeel grinned.

"Very good. I'm looking for the restaurant 'Black Heart'. Do you have any idea where that is exactly? I actually thought it should be here in this street," he said and looked at the man waiting. This one frowned and blinked.

"Uh ... "

"I want to take my girlfriend out to dinner tonight. So I should definitely know how to get there," he said, shrugging his shoulders. I felt a slight redness on his cheeks. Now the eyes of the older man became bigger. He had clearly not expected something like this.

"Well ... the 'Black Heart' is down the street and then left hand. But ... are you sure? The food there is completely overpriced and the reputation has suffered greatly in recent weeks."

"And why is that?"

"Well ... the best cook has quit and since then ... the quality of the food has dropped," explained the elder and swallowed lightly.

"That ... is impractical. Is there an alternative you can recommend to me," Gajeel asked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. That was discreetly crappy. Good thing he hadn't reserved a table yet.

"There would be the 'Red Heaven'. It's only about three shops from here and is one of the best restaurants in town. They offer southern cuisine there."

"Thank you, old man. Ya helped me a lot", Gajeel grinned broadly.

"Jo Nakajima", a man's voice suddenly penetrated his ears and by the sound alone he could smell the anger. The old man next to him flinched violently and began to tremble. Sweat beads kicked his forehead and Gajeel frowned, turned to the voice and looked at the man. He looked like a classic snob. A sycophant, as he had seen them too often and often enough already beaten up. The black hair he had hairstyled with gel to the back and he wore a white suit. The pink fabric of a shirt flashed from underneath. The man had a greasy grin and a twisted mustache. Behind him were four guys who clearly looked like a bunch of thugs. Gajeel tightened his grip. He felt the tension, could smell the fear in the fresh morning air.

"Norokuma-san," the elderly gentleman next to him said, not just nervous as he had been with him, but rather afraid. And Gajeel didn't like that. He pulled out his Lacrimapad and wrote a message to his guild master.

 _Gajeel, 09:50: Jo, Master. I'm in Crocus right now. Some guy named Norokuma sneaks around and scares old shopkeepers._

While waiting for an answer, he scrutinized the guys, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. The Lacrimapad in his hand vibrated and announced a new message. He lowered his gaze to this and a broad grin covered his lips.

 _Master, 09:50: Put him on. Criminal, rank B. 400,000 jewel reward._

"Nakajima-san. I heard some strange things there," the varnish monkey started. Gajeel meanwhile put his Lacrimapad in his pocket, loosened his shoulders. The old man who had helped him, although he obviously made him nervous, seemed scared, but did not back down.

"I ... ", he began, but Gajeel did not want to wait for an argument to come. He let his ankles crack, released his magic, bridged the few metres to this Norokuma and rammed his fist into his face without further ado. At the same time he grabbed him by the collar so that he would not simply fall over and hit him again. The man collapsed backwards by the force of his blows. He grinned while the thugs retreated in shock.

"Jo ... I take your boss with me. Get a good bounty for him. If you make problems, then I tear your ass up to the ears, only that this is clear. Did we understand each other?" he asked and the guys nodded hastily. They were pale as a ghost and he giggled quietly. Then he waved with one hand.

"Then shoo, shoo," he said, giving them permission to run away. None of the four hesistated. They took off, running for their lifes. Gajeel looked after them with a frowned forehead, but still had to grin. Then he pulled out handcuffs, put them on this Norokuma and shouldered him wordlessly. He already wanted to turn away when old, rough hands held him up. He looked to the side, straight into the old man's eyes.

"Thank you."

"Oh, no problem. I am in a legal guild and immediately smelled the anger," Gajeel grinned at the old man. He was still trembling, but you could clearly see his gratitude.

"W-which ... "

"Fairy Tail. I wish you a nice day and thank you for the tip with the restaurant," he said. The man thanked him repeatedly as Gajeel made his way to the next police station. He had only lifted his left hand to say goodbye and walked on.

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"Are you still not finished, Levy?" he asked and looked down at his reading girlfriend who had a book on her lap. Which was three times as thick as her thigh and she was almost through the damn thing. Levy didn't even answer, just humming restlessly. Gajeel sighed annoyed, pulled a chair from the table and dropped on it. He had been waiting a good 2 hours for her to finish. Actually he had wanted to go for a romantic walk in the park, but no. Madame still wanted to read. He took a look at his Lacrimapad. He had reserved the table for 18 o'clock and they had it already 17 o'clock 30.

"Levy ... " he began. She sighed annoyed and raised her eyes.

"What," she asked growling. He raised a brow, grinned and bent forward, put one hand on the pages of the book.

"We leave now. I'm hungry," he said decisively, pulling the book out of her hand, slamming it shut. Then he got up, pulled her up on her feet, and before she could protest, he threw her over his shoulder. Levy gasped in shock, but she didn't protest, because she didn't want to risk being banned from the Imperial Library. He knew that, so he hadn't expected a really big protest. He felt the confused and sometimes horrified looks of the other bookworms, marched past a shocked and an amused librarian, grinned at the two ladies and left the building. Humming, he walked through the streets of Crocus while Levy was still hanging on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

"I can walk myself," she informed him after a while and he laughed.

"So that I'll lose you here, or you'll go and leave me? Forget it, Shrimp," he said, turning into this one side street as he did in the morning. But before he left it again, he set her down on the floor. But only so that he could push one arm under her back and one into the hollow of her knees. Cleverly he lifted her up. She screamed in horror and automatically clung to his neck.

"GAJEEL," she screamed and detached herself a bit from him. He laughed out loud, carried her out of the alley and stepped onto the now much more lively street with the old cobblestone pavement.

"Just let yourself be carried, dwarf, and enjoy the view," he said grinning. She blew her cheeks open, but when she let her gaze wander, she couldn't get enough of her sight. He grinned, because he knew exactly that she liked this flair. That she liked such buildings and streets.

Without comment he carried her through the crowds, ignored the glances of passers-by and carried her to _Red Heaven_.

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The restaurant was an absolute dream. Everything was decorated in the old, rustic style. A live band played music, waiters scurried between the numerous tables and took care of the guests. The smell of delicious food rose into her nose and made her stomach growl loudly and clearly. So far she hadn't even noticed how hungry she was. She had been too busy with her books. Gajeel and she had been taken to a table for two and she felt happier than she had in a long time. She hadn't noticed at first that this was some kind of date today, but now that he had taken her to a restaurant, she had become clearly aware of it. She smiled at Gajeel as they ate their appetizer and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.

Suddenly Gajeel growled, pulled out his Lacrimapad and stared angrily at the device. Apologising, he looked at her.

"I just have to take it. It won't take long either", he said and she nodded, smiling. She knew he was a member of Fairy Tail. Probably it had something to do with a job. Anyway, she assumed that and she wouldn't want to consider anything else. Gajeel mumbled another excuse as he rose, answered his lacrimapad and left the restaurant. Levy smiled slightly, skewered a small tomato and shoved it into her mouth, chewed on it. The starter alone was heavenly. Her gaze slid out the window and she saw Gajeel's figure. His broad back.

She wouldn't admit it, but she was worried about what this call might mean. The minutes passed and the waiter brought the main course, seemed clearly confused that her partner was no longer there. She explained to him that he had just been on the lacrimapad and was coming right back. The waiter nodded, but frowned as if doubting her words. Hours seemed to have passed, but then Gajeel came back to her table and let himself fall onto the chair clearly annoyed. Levy picked up the knife and fork and began to cut the turkey breast. The meat was incredibly tender and light.

"Gajeel? Is everything all right?" she asked carefully and dunked the meat in the cream sauce. He sighed and then looked at her, smiling. However, this smile seemed rather tortured.

"After this we have to go back to Magnolia. Although I would much rather have stayed here with you for another two or three days," he noticed and shrugged his shoulders. Levy frowned.

"A job," she asked and bit her lower lip. He nodded. Then he picked up the cutlery.

"But I don't intend to go now. We ate in peace. Don't worry," he said and grinned at her. Levy blinked and felt warmth creeping through her body. Her heart raced and she returned the smile, nodded.

"All right", she agreed with him. Levy wouldn't worry. At least she wouldn't let him know.


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